The Space Between Stars
by ambitousvictory
Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA. (OC insert)
1. First Day at UA

**A/N: Hello everyone! This is the first time I've written anything in a long time. I've recently become a fan of BNHA and I adore it. I've had this thought of putting my own character into BNHA recently so I figured I would give writing a try again. I've decided to just make things simpler on my end I just added her to class 1-A as another seat in the class (cheap out I know).**

 **I hope that you guys enjoy this or at least read and let me know what you think of it at least!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary:Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crating the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

* * *

One: First Day At UA

* * *

I walked up the front steps to the enormous glass building, my hands shoved into my blazer pockets. I had headphones over my ears barely listening to the song blaring through them. I just didn't want anyone talking to me, I wanted to experience this moment all by myself for the first time. The first time I walked into UA, the school that was going to mold me into a pro hero.

I stopped to look at myself in a glass window before I walked through the door. I brushed my dark hair out of eyes and I stared determinedly at my own reflection. I gave myself the smallest nod and I turned to the door and pulled it open, crossing the threshold to my future.

The building was huge, but signs were everywhere, pointing students in every direction. One sign read Development Studio and a bunch of second year students headed that way, chatting excitedly. Two turns and a flight of stairs later and I found myself in front of the door to my class room, a giant 1-A on it. I stared at it a moment too long in awe of the massive thing, because someone behind me was trying to talk to me.

I took my headphones off and turned, "Sorry, what?".

"I'm just trying to get into class, are you in 1-A too?", a boy with spiky red hair inquired, a huge smile on his face.

I returned the smile, "Yes I am! Sorry for standing in the doorway, I just can't believe how huge the door is."

"I'm sure it is to make sure anyone can get in. I'm Kirishima Eijiro by the way", he stuck a hand out to me.

I took it, "I'm Arai Hikari. Nice to meet you".

"You too! I can't wait for class to get started, we should go in and see who else is here", he replied animatedly.

"Oh, yeah!", I realized I was still standing in the door way.

I turned back around and gripped the door handle, pulling it open and stepping into my new classroom for the next year. Most of the desks were already full with other people, a group of girls were already chatting away in the corner. One with fluffy pink hair and pink skin smiled and waved animatedly at me. I returned it as best I could, I wasn't a very peppy person and I already was running into trouble with that. Kirishima had walked toward the back looking for his desk, when a boy with blonde hair caught my eye. He had a look of mild contempt on his face and his feet up on the desk. He looked incredibly familiar for some reason.

Another boy with glasses and blue hair got up from where he was sitting and strode over to him stiffly, you could tell he was upset by something.

"You must get your feet of the desk this instant! You're disrespecting this fine institution by doing so!" he exclaimed at him.

The blonde boy smirked at him, "Nah, I think I'll keep my feet up where they are thanks".

The blue hair boy audibly gasped and started ranting again about the desks and the school. I hid a laugh by coughing into my arm, if the antics were this crazy on just the first day the school year was going to be wild. The two of them kept arguing, the blonde saying something about how he couldn't wait to rip him a new one when the door opened again. A timid looking boy with green hair stood in the doorway, a grimace on his face at the two others arguing. The one lecturing the blonde strode over to him in the doorway and very loudly introduced himself as "Tenya Iida" to which the other stuttered out "Midoriya Izuku" In reply. I turned back to look at the blonde, a frown etched into his features.

"No reason to look to grim, I'm sure he's just nervous and is all, lecturing you like that", I said with a light laugh, trying to make conversation.

He made eye contact with me, red iris glaring at me, "No one tells me what to do".

 _Cool, he's stubborn and rude,_ I thought to myself. I returned his stare evenly and cooly, his face unwavering but his eyes widening just a little. _He must not have_ _ever been disputed with in middle school_.

"My name is Arai Hikari. Just trying to make conversation with my new classmates", my moth pulling into a slight frown.

He scoffed, "I'm the best one in here, having conversation doesn't matter".

I was full on frowning at this point, I shoved my hands back into my blazer pockets. "I see you're also the rudest in here too".

His eyebrows lifted in surprise at my comment and he smirked, "Damn straight".

I was about to give my retort when the three chattering in the door, stopped suddenly. A man inside a yellow sleeping bag was standing there now. He looked exhausted and uninterested in being here. He somehow managed to unzip the thing from the inside, and he stepped out of it.

"Hello everyone, I'm Aizawa Shotoa. I'm your homeroom teacher. There should be one of these at every desk", he pulled out what looked like the school gym uniform from the bottom of his sleeping bag, "Put them on and be outside in 15 minutes".

He then turned right around and walked back out of the room. Everyone else in the class looked very confused. I found my seat in the very back, the only one in the row, right behind a girl with spiky black hair in a ponytail. The uniform was indeed inside the desk. I sat my bag on the chair and grabbed it, grinning wildly. Aizawa-ojisan wouldn't tell me over the break if he was or wasn't my homeroom teacher, I'm surprised that the school let him since he is practically my uncle, but I wasn't about to complain.

Fifteen minutes later my entire class was outside on the field near the ball toss. Knowing Aizawa-ojisan this would be some crazy physical test to see what all we could do. I was bouncing on my toes from the extra energy I had, excited to show him I had been working on my own too.

"Bakugo, come throw the ball. You can use your quirk anyway you want", Aizawa said monotonously.

The blonde boy from earlier stepped up, seeming just as cocky as he was in the classroom earlier. He took the ball from Aizawa and stepped up to the field. He pulled his arm back and sucked in a breath.

"Die!", he yelled, throwing the ball forward and an explosion erupting out of his hand propelling the ball up and away from us.

The rest of the class stood there in shock as the device Aizawa had rang back with the distance Bakugo had thrown the ball. 705.2 meters. I guess Bakugo did have the bite to back up all the bark he had going on.

We moved into the physical test now, being allowed to use our quirks anyway we wanted to help us better our results. With the threat of expulsion of the weakest amongst us hanging over our heads. This was trivial to me, things I had worked on to become as physically fit as I could to be able to become a hero. The 50 meter dash was first, something I was good at in middle school. We were to run in pairs and one person alone since we were odd numbered with twenty-one of us here.

Tenya had cleared it incredibly fast, clearly because of the engines in his calves. The short girl running with him coming in close behind him. I watched as the pink girl who waved at me earlier kicked her shoes off and was running with the blonde boy who had a giant silver belt on. He started prattling on about shinning and I rolled my eyes. He wasn't even able to use his quirk to get him across the whole 50 meters. Bakugo and the timid boy, Midoriya, were running together. Bakugo threw his arms out behind him, propelling himself forward with his explosions, while Midoriya just ran it. Bakugo finished it in 4.13 seconds. He smirked to himself at the finish line looking at his hands.

I lined up next with a boy who had red and white hair, split neatly down the middle. I approached the starting line excited to run this using my quirk and not just my legs. I also kicked my shoes off and threw them to the side. The boy next to me looked at me with a blank face, his eyes two different colors. I gave him a grin, and braced myself against the starting block, warmth running through my body.

The machine counted down and yelled start. I pushed up hard on my hands and took one step forward pushing down hard and throwing my other leg up and forward. Stars burst out from both of my feet and shot me forward, much like Bakugo did with his explosions in his hands.

'4.13 seconds!' the machine yelled as I crossed the finish line. I hovered for just a moment, grin on my face from the exhilaration of moving like that, and then stopped my quirk barefeet landing on the ground. The machine yelled '5.42 seconds" as the bicolored boy crossed next to me, riding a giant wave of ice. He hoped off and turned to touch it with his left hand, it all steaming and melting away.

"Two quirks? No wonder you got in", I said my hands on my hips.

He looked at me, his face cool and void of anything. "Thanks". His tone flat.

I turned to go back and grab my shoes, I probably was going to end up leaving them off for the rest of this, but didn't want to lose them. I looked up and saw Bakugo staring at me, a frown etched into his face and eyes slanted in a glare. I returned his cruel stare with a curious one. Was he angry because we finished with the same time?

"You won't beat me star eyes!", he yelled at me before turning on his heel and stomping his way inside to the next test.

I frowned, I liked how my eyes looked with the gold flecks in the blue. It really did look like the night sky and complimented my quirk perfectly.

"I think your eyes are super pretty!" a girl with short brown hair exclaimed behind me. "Your quirk is so awesome too! It's like you flew!".

I smiled and pulled at my shirt, "Thank you. It's stellar manipulation. What is yours? I didn't see yours?".

"Zero gravity!" She smiled wide at me. "My name is Uraraka Ochaco! But you can just call me Ochaco", she stuck her hand out to me.

I wasn't used to being on first name basis so soon with someone, and she was the epitome of happy go lucky. But I wanted to make friends in this new place. "I'm Arai Hikari, It's nice to meet you Ochaco-chan". I smiled at her and took her hand.

Her face lit up as she grasped my hand, leaving her pinky out. "Let's head inside Hikari-chan!".

She turned and ran off, with just a slight skip in her step. I smiled and headed after her, ready for whatever else Aizawa was going to throw at us.

 **A/N: There it is! I have a whole outline written out so I hope to update soon depending on school, I have two more weeks and finals so I'll have more time soon in like mid May. Thanks so much for reading!**

 **~ Vic**


	2. Sparky and Star-eyes

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for the reads. I have one more final for this semester and I decided to finish this rather than study so whoops lol. Send help for me. I'm hoping you all like this chapter, please leave a review to let me know what you think! It's hard for me to stay motivated when writing, especially since its been so long so let me know if you care if I keep posting or not.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary:Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crating the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

* * *

Two: Sparky and Star-eyes

* * *

Watching everyone else use their quirks was fascinating to watch, even some of the lamer seeming ones like the naval laser and the purple ball dude. I mean they did get in somehow. I watched as said naval laser shot himself pretty far across for the standing long jump. Bakugo also blasting himself far past the sand pit with his hands. I was getting ready to jump, shaking my legs out.

"Do your best Hikari!", I heard Ochaco call from the other side of the sandpit.

I smiled, she sure was friendly even if this is a competition. I had doubts though that Aizawa would actually expel anyone. I knew he had before, but never on the first day.

I bent my legs and my thighs tensed, warmth running down them. Bright stars erupted from my feet as I jumped forward, sending me flying across the sand pit, landing right where Bakugo and the other blonde boy had landed. I looked up at Aizawa smiling. He gave me a curt nod, and I nodded back. I knew he couldn't show favoritism, especially with them allowing him to be my homeroom teacher, but I really wanted his praise on my progress.

"That was so good Hikari!", Ochaco gushed as she came back over to me.

I smiled, overwhelmed by how friendly she already was with me. "Thanks".

"I quite agree! Your quirk will have many applications with hero work!", Tenya said as he also came over behind Ochaco.

"I suppose! I think that your engines are so cool though, villains won't even be able to keep up with you", I told the taller boy.

Tenya continued talking about quirks and how they can be used, and I glanced over at Bakugo walking back to the ball throw field. His shoulders were hunched and his hands stuffed in his pockets. I knew he was worried about the threat of expulsion but he had so much control over his quirk and a tenacity that I couldn't match, he shouldn't be worried at all. And he was still so angry. I still couldn't place where I had seen him before but I was going to find out by bothering him about it later.

The ball throw for Ochaco went so well she scored an _infinity_ on her throw, which just blew my mind. The rest of the class was just as shocked as I was.

"That's crazy! How can that even be right?", Kirishima exclaimed behind me.

"Zero gravity dude", I said over my shoulder.

"I've barely gotten to show my hardening off", he grumbled.

I stepped up, and much like Bakugo, sent the ball flying with a starburst exploding behind it in my hand. I watched it go and could feel my classmates staring behind at my back. One of which felt like it was burning holes into my shoulder blades. Aizawa showed the tracker in his hand, the ball made it a 704.6 meters, 1.4 behind the explosive boys toss that started all this off.

I turned to walk back to my classmates, Bakugo smirking at me since I didn't tie with him this time. I looked straight into his eyes, and saw just the smallest hint of relief lying in them. I smiled wide at him and he frowned back.

"Guess I gotta train some more to throw as far as you, huh?", I said cheerfully to him.

Bakugo made a tching noise and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm the best here, don't even dream of surpassing me".

"We haven't even really started yet, how can you be arrogant?", I shot at him. He definitely had some issues, but I was getting tired of his eyes trying to will explosions into my back.

He crossed his arms and made a face at me, "I'm going to surpass All Might one day, of course I'm the best here".

"I'm glad you have dreams, but you can't just do whatever you want to the rest of us", said with an air of annoyance. I didn't put up with shit like this.

"I'll do what I want extra", Bakugo threw at me.

I was about to bite back with something else, I had no time to be walked all over by some classmate I barely even knew, when Aizawa shouted at us both to shut up and called Midoryia to the ball throw. Bakugo grumbled something under his breathe back at me and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself form biting back at him. I could still feel his stare burning into my spine out of spite.

"Midoryia needs to shape up soon and get his act together or else he'll end up going home", Tenya said next to me. I could feel his worry rolling off him, even though he had barely known this green haired boy.

"Of course he's going home, he's entirely quirkless!", Bakugo shouted at him.

"Huh? He has a quirk! Did you not hear about what he did in the entrance exam?", Tenya said confused.

Bakugo replied with a loud 'huh?'. How could someone even get into the hero course here without a quirk? Midoriya hadn't used his quirk at all yet though, performing far under everyone else. If Bakugo had been willing me to explode earlier he was wishing Midoriya to go nuclear. I looked at him, and he was staring daggers at into the back of Midoriya's skull. I wonder how they knew each other.

Midoriya drew his arm back and pitched the ball forward, and it landed 46 meters away. I couldn't see his face but he looked visibly distressed and shocked. I looked over at Aizawa and his scarves were dancing around his head, hair standing on end. Aizawa was using his own quirk to nullify Midoriya's.

"The judges are not rational with the entrance exam, you never should have been allowed into this school", Aizawa droned at him.

"You erased…oh, I know you! You're Eraser head! You can cancel out anyone's quirk just by looking at them!", Midoriya exclaimed loudly.

I was confused why Aizawa was doing this to Midoriya but I had only seen his quirk in use so often so it was amazing to see him. My classmates were whispering behind me, clearly having no clue who the pro hero was in front of them.

"He works alone and in the shadows, he doesn't like the media. They're a distraction", I said to Ochaco loud enough for everyone to hear. "But he's still an amazing hero even if he isn't on TV all the time."

I grew up idolizing Aizawa-ojisan. He was a close family friend with both of my dads and had been around my entire life. My dad Toshio is a retired pro boxer who teaches classes at his gym now and coaches kids trying to go pro. I grew up boxing and learning MMA because of him, being a rowdy preschooler, it was a good outlet. My other dad Kazuo is a music producer who travels and finds aspiring musicians all over the country. He signs every kind of musician, from pianists to punk bands. His quirk is keen ear, he has perfect pitch and can hear further than the normal human ear. Being adopted was hard sometimes, but my dads gave me everything and I loved them for it. Aizawa took care of me when my das were away when I was little, taking me out and showing me all the pro hero ropes, how the media hyped some up and gave them big heads. He inspired me.

"You aren't ready. You have no control over your power. What were you gunna do, break your bones again? Render yourself useless on the battlefield? You are a risk and a liability", he said, throwing his scarf at him and yanking him forward.

"That's not what I was trying to do!", Midoriya stuttered out.

"You have the same reckless passion as another hero I know. He made himself a legend. But that doesn't matter if you can only throw a single punch before you destroy yourself. I'm sorry, but there is no way you can be a hero with this power", Aizawa stated harshly.

Everyone gasped, including myself. I knew he was rough, but this seemed a bit much. Midoriya had to have been admitted for a reason, something went right in the entrance exam. Aizawa released the scarves from him and his hair dropped back to his shoulders.

"You can use your quirk again. Go ahead and take your final throw so we can finish this", he said coolly.

I watched Aizawa walk back with his eyes closed, and hands shoved into his pockets. Bakugo was smirking now seeing Midoriya walk back to the field, seeing his stress. Midoriya stood there ball in hand, looking down at the ground.

"He has to do something", I said aloud.

"He can't _do_ anything", Bakugo said plainly.

"How do two know each other anyway? I thought you had been staring me down earlier but you've been trying to kill him with just your eyes this entire time", I turned to him.

Bakugo sighed, "We went to middle school together".

"Ah, some immature rivalry then?", I said. And quickly regretted making the mistake of saying so.

Bakugo gave me a glare that had nothing on the looks his face had made all day so far. "That worthless Deku is nothing. We aren't rivals, he's just some stupid quirkless extra that has gotten in my way over and over again. He can't be a hero".

My eyes widened at his harsh words, and at the exact moment I went to reply Midoriya threw the ball forward. The gust of wind that came from it blew my hair back. Bakugo's face in complete shock. Midoriya turned to look at Aizawa, gripping his wrist. The index finger on his right hand was bruised and looked broken. How could his quirk hurt him like that?

"I'm still standing!", Midoriya exclaimed.

Aizawas face was overcome with a smile of surprise. The tacker said 705.3 meters. Barely further than Bakugo and I had thrown. Amazing, I had never seen such strength in a quirk in person like this before. The class stood there silently for a moment. Bakugo looked like he was going to have a stoke for a second, and then his hands sparked and he charged the green hair boy.

"Deku you damn bastard! Tell me how you did that or I'll kill you dammit!", he screamed at the other boy.

Midoriya yelped in fear and put his hands up in surrender ready for the blonde so barrel into him. Bakugo didn't get the chance though because Aizawas scarfs shot out and wrapped around him. Aizawas hair was up again, canceling Bakugos quirk.

"Why is this scarf so damn strong!", Bakugo yelled, straining against it.

"It's a capture weapon made specially for me. Now stand down, you shouldn't make me use my quirk so much. It gives me serious dry eye", Aizawa said.

"You're wasting my time, whoever's next can go", he said and released Bakugo.

Midoriya hurriedly ran back to the rest of us, Ochaco greeting him and worriedly asking about his finger. Bakugo looked like he was going implode in on himself and I could see the gears in his brain turning, he was trying to figure something out. I had only met the boy, but I felt bad for him for some reason, I could clearly tell he was in distress. Not to mention I had to figure out why he looked so damn familiar.

* * *

The last three events went by without incident. Both Bakugo and Midoriya were incredibly quiet for the remaining time. The distance run freaking sucked, I never did like endurance running like this, I'd rather lift weights or hit a punching bag or spar or do anything besides this. We finally finished this impromptu physical exam and Aizawa gathered us all together to show us the final score. I looked over at Midoriya, he was worrying his lower lip between his teeth. I don't blame him for being nervous, but I knew Aizawa couldn't send hi home after that amazing display of power.

"Here are the overall scores, I'm too tired to go over them individually", Aizawa said.

He clicked a button on his device and a hologram popped up. I nervously searched for my name, I wanted to make him proud and be near the top of my class from the start. And I wanted to know how he thought I looked compared to the others here. I was number four, right under Bakugo and above Tenya. I let out a small breath, I knew all that training was worth it, even if it was just this silly physical right now. I looked for Midoriya next, and to no surprise I found him in last, number twenty-one in our class. I looked Aizawa in the eye, and he gave me the smallest nod.

"No one is expelled, it was just to motivate you all to do your absolute best", Aizawa said, his lip curling up almost in a smile. He always amused himself the most.

Most of my classmates stood there just staring at him. Midoriya looked like he was going to cry or pass out or both. Tenya and Ochaco also looked upset. The boy with his hair split down the middle had no emotion on his face (it was creeping me out at this point) and the girl I sat behind with the pony tail looked unbothered.

"I thought you all figured that out? I guess I should've said something", she said bashfully.

"Don't worry about it, no harm done. It's all fine now!", I told her as the rest of the class grumbled about it.

"We're done now so you can all go home. Make sure to get a syllabus from the classroom and look it over tonight", Aizawa said, stalking off with a wave.

I knew my dads had invited Aizawa over for dinner tonight so I could ask his opinion later. I headed back to the locker room with Ochaco talking my ear off about the test and what tomorrow would be like and everything else. I smiled and nodded at all the right places while we changed.

"Bakugo sure is rowdy huh?", Ochaco said still cheerful as ever.

"Oh, yeah he is. He looks super familiar to me, and I don't know where I could've seen him before", I said haphazardly tying my tie and then just giving up and leaving it loose around my neck, the top two buttons on my shirt undone.

"Oh yeah! I think I figured that out", Ochaco whispered back to me.

"You've seen him too?", I leaned closer to her, glad I wasn't the only one so confused.

"I'm certain he was the one on the TV, more than a year ago", she whispered. "The boy who was held hostage by that sludge villain and then All Might showed up and saved him".

It all clicked into place after that. I had seen the news on TV for a week after that had happened. Aizawa-oji also mentioned it many times to me, how none of the other heros present could do anything to help him and how ridiculous that no one else tried to do anything. Aizawa said that the boy had an amazing quirk and fended the sludge villain off as best as he could.

"I think you're right. We shouldn't bother him about that though, I'm sure he was scared and that was a terrible experience to have", I told her.

"Oh, right!", she agreed, pulling her shoes on. "I'm gunna go catch up with Midoriya and Tenya, wanna come?", she smiled.

"Oh, nah. I gotta go grab some stuff from the front office. You go on ahead", I lied hastily, I was gunna find Bakugo and do exactly what I advised Ochaco not to do.

"Oh, alright. I'll see you tomorrow Hikari-chan!".

I waved back at her and turned back to shoving my feet into my boots. Bakugo had been staring me down all day and then attacked Midoriya. I was going to ask him what his problem was and why he was so damn angry.

I headed out the locker room and looked both ways down the hall, the blonde was nowhere to be found. I headed back to the classroom grabbing the syllabus and stuffing it into my backpack, no one else was in here either. I sighed. I'd catch him eventually and bother him about this. I headed out to the front doors to go to the train station to go home. I couldn't wait to tell my dads about today.

It was as I was rounding the corner to the station when I spotted a familiar head of spiky blonde hair. Bakugo was standing there at the platform, headphones in his ears and hands shoved in his pockets. He seemed to be waiting for the same train I take, I wondered if he lived near me. I walked over to where he was staying a little behind him deciding how to approach him to call him out on his attitude today. I decided to just throw caution, an my possible safety, to the wind and walked up and just tapped him on the shoulder.

Bakugo ripped his left earphone out and glared at me over his shoulder, his face turning into a sneer when he realized it was me.

"Oh it's you star-eyes", he griped at me. "What the fuck do you want?".

"The names Arai Hikari. And just why wondering why you were trying to kill me with your eyes during the physical was all", I replied coolly.

"Because I don't like putting up with shitty extras", he said, looking straight ahead at the tracks.

"We're going to be in the same class for the next three years, we don't have to be friends, but I don't put up with shit attitudes like yours".

He turned back towards me and raised an eyebrow, looking almost surprised. "Seems like you have your own shit attitude, star-eyes", he said a little more monotone and less angrily.

I shrugged and stepped up next to him so we were standing next to each other on the platform but neither of us turned to look at the other. This boy was incredibly strange, and I was incredibly curious for some reason.

"My dads a boxer and I grew up competing so blame that I guess", I told him cautiously.

He made a grunting noise which was all I was probably getting from him in return. The train whizzed by us pulling all the way up, eventually coming to a complete stop. The doors hissed open and he stepped through them, I jumped on after him. He took a seat on the far side of the train and I sat down across from him, the train car was surprisingly empty. I looked up at him and found him staring at me, his iris vibrantly red. I bit the inside of my cheek and stared back at him, willing myself to keep neutral face. This was some stupid show of dominance and I wasn't about to back down to some guy I barely knew that still had grudges from middle school.

Bakugo smirked at me, "Maybe you aren't such a shitty extra, star-eyes. People don't look me in the eye like that".

"I'm not scared of you, sparky. You blow shit up to look all scary and intimidating. My skins fire retardant because of my quirk, so bring it on", I clasped my hands together in my lap.

Bakugo laughed at that, possibly at me who knew at this point.

"Alright, I'll take your stupid challenge on, but so you know I _don't_ lose. I'm the best", he leaned back in the train seat and put his arms behind his head.

I dared a smile. "It's not so fun saying you're the best if you don't get challenged, right? What's that worth if you can't prove it. We'd always get some big mouth visitors at my dads gym, until I'd beat the shit out of them".

Bakugos eyes narrowed, "You'd just kick someone's ass just because. You don't look like it star-eyes".

I shrugged, "They thought they were better than me, so I'd take them on in the ring. Knocking them out brought their senses back. I'm sure you do too sparky".

"I'll do anything to be the best. I'm going to surpass All Might one day and be the new kind hero this world needs", he said with such conviction.

Again with surpassing All Might, even though it was All Might that had saved him a year ago. It didn't seem very likely that anyone would surpass All Might any time soon, the number one pro hero was unmatched in strength. I wasn't about to say that out loud to him and piss him off though.

"Hey Bakugo. I've been wondering all day, because you've looked so familiar to me and I couldn't place it until I was walking here", I started carefully.

I could see him tense up and his eyes narrowed at me. I'm sure he got this a lot, especially right after it had happened. I know it must have been annoying but I had get it off my mind.

"There was a sludge like villain that took a middle schooler hostage, and then All Might showed up and saved him. My uncle went on about it for days, roasting the shit out of the other pro heros there that weren't able to help him. He also mentioned that the boy had a really strong quirk, and that if it had been anything else he probably would've died".

Bakguo had crossed his arms and this point and had gone back to frowning. His glare was incredible, I'd have to ask him how he looked so terrifying.

"Those other heros were shit", Bakugo spat at me. "I would've gotten myself out eventually if All Might hadn't shown up. I wasn't scared".

"I never said you were", I shot at him quickly. "I just wanted to make sure it was you or not".

"Don't you dare say anything to any of those stupid extras in class. Especially fucking deku", he said jabbing a finger at me.

It looked like he was trying to keep himself from imploding again. This was definitely a sore spot for him. I couldn't imagine being in a situation like that. I had been training to fight my whole life because of my dad, but that had to have been terrifying no matter who you were.

"My lips are sealed sparky", I replied calmly looking out the window behind him.

The train was slowing down and the stop was announced, which you couldn't understand at all, but it was mine. I stood as the train came to a stop, slinging my back pack over my shoulders. I looked over at the volatile boy across from me, my curiosity settled for the time being.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, sparky", I said heading toward the doors.

"Obiously star-eyes", came his rude reply, all trace of the anxiety from before gone, his rough demeanor replacing it.

I waved over my shoulder as I stepped onto the platform, a small grin on my face. I'd always had an affinity for poking into things that I shouldn't, that was probably Aizawa's fault on that. I strode off towards home, excited to finally talk to him about how I had done today and what tomorrow may be like.

* * *

 **A/N: So there's chapter two! It's almost 4000 words, which is like crazy long for me? Let me know what you think, hope you enjoyed!**

 **~ Vic**


	3. Team Work Makes the Dream Work

**A/N: Good god it has been too long! I have finished up finals and have moved off campus back home for the summer (booo) but I'm gunna have lots of time to write, hopefully I can stick with it and not loose interest like I have before. Without further ado here you go!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obiously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

* * *

Three: Team Work Makes The Dream Work

* * *

Despite the fact that I was attending a high school to mold us all into future heros one day, we still had normal classes. I had always listened to Present Mics radio show but listening to him go on about the English language was somehow incredibly boring. I sat in my seat in the very back jotting notes down as he was explaining some sentence in English and why is was grammatically correct. I never did have the best time with foreign languages. Bakugo however seemed to excel at every subject out of sheer willpower. He would answer questions when no one else would, or could really. Being in the very back was great since I got to watch and see everyone else, when I wanted.

The day got better when Ectoplasm came in to teach mathematics. Math and Science were two of my favorite subjects in middle school and I always thought about becoming a chemical engineer or something if the hero thing didn't work out somehow. I was answering questions left and right during his lecture, I could tell some of the other boys in the class looked a little surprised. I knew there was still so much stereotyping that women wouldn't be good at math or sciences. I'd squash them in math grades to prove them wrong.

"Make sure to do the homework problems by the end of the week", Ectoplasm said as the bell rang.

The rest of my classmates shuffled their chairs back and were leaving to go get lunch. We'd get to go eat in the big cafeteria today with the rest of the students today since Aizawa kidnapped us for that crazy physical. I grabbed my cell phone out of my bag and headed out the door, spotting a head of spiky blonde hair walking down the hallway by themselves. I quickened my pace to catch up to him.

"Hey Sparky", I said cheerfully, catching up to him, his legs taking a purposeful stride.

Bakugo looked over at me, giving me some serious side eye, but otherwise a neutral face. I took this as a good sign and that he wouldn't blow me up. Right now at least.

"What do ya want star-eyes", he grumbled at me, hands in his pockets.

"Well lunch obviously, since were walking to the cafeteria right now", I said meeting his side eye with my own. "We should sit together".

Bakugo snorted at me, "I don't want to sit with anyone, I'm just fine by myself".

I pouted at him, he still was as angry sounding as yesterday, "Oh come on sparky, its never any fun eating by yourself. Let's just sit together so we aren't by ourselves. You don't even need to talk to me"

I could see him roll his eyes at me as we entered the cafeteria and joined the line to get our food, but he didn't say anything else about it. I took it as a him allowing me to invade his space for the lunch period. I checked my phone to see if I had any notifications. I had two text messages. One from my dad Toshio, telling me to have a good day and that I'd have to come into the gym soon to spar with some new kids that had enrolled in classes, and the other was from Aizawa saying that I'd have battle training later with none other than _the_ All Might, and to get come say hi before the lunch period was over. I could tell that Bakugo couldn't give two shits about anyone else, but he was looking over my shoulder as I replied to Aizawa.

"Who ya texting", he asked, clearly feigning disinterest.

"My dad and uncle", I replied as I stuffed the phone into my blazer pocket.

"You know someone has the same name as our homeroom teacher?", he asked skeptically.

I felt myself flush a little at his straight forwardness. "Well…not exactly. Aizawa-sensei is my uncle. Well, he's a really good friend of my dads, so he's pretty much my uncle", I told him.

Bakugo stared at me, seeming to process the information. "And they put you in his class here?".

"I was also surprised. He wouldn't tell me if he was my teacher or not when we found out I got in".

"You did take the entrance exam then?", Bakugo asked taking a tray and setting it on the rail on the counter.

I grabbed one after him and did the same, "Well yeah of course I took the entrance exam. I saw that you finished first. I'm not surprised. You seem very strong".

"Of course I am. I'm the best, I wouldn't settle for anything less than first", He half sneered at me, grabbing a bowl of rice off the line.

I followed him through, grabbing food as I went and paying at the very end. I spotted a small table in the corner and headed for it, Bakugo trailing behind me. I sat down on one side and him the other.

"If your uncle works here, then why didn't he just recommend you in?", Bakugo asked me, neatly eating his food.

I picked my own chopsticks and stuck them into my rice. This had been a huge debate the year leading up to the entrance exam for UA. Aizawa-oji had wanted to recommend me into the hero course at UA, he insisted upon it. I knew with his recommendation that I would almost without a doubt be let in. Aizawa had an incredible record as a pro hero, even if it wasn't as publicized as a lot of the other pro heros. And being the teacher known for expelling students on a whim at the best hero school meant that he wouldn't recommend someone unless he truly felt that they would excel here. I wouldn't let him do it however. I wanted to prove myself and get in on my own terms. My dads wanted me to just let him recommend me but after explaining myself to Aizawa he conceded and then decided to help train me physically as best he could before the exam.

"It felt like the easy way out I guess. I wanted to do it all by myself", I told him. "I know that those let in on recommendations are considered almost better than those who get in taking the exams. They really have to be talented and know some amazing pros to get in that way. But I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be known as amazing because I proved it myself, not because someone else is vouching for me".

Bakugo looked at me with his face void of emotion, but his eyes had something in them. I'd almost call it a glint of respect. It was gone though before I could be sure. He took a bite of something that looked incredibly spicy.

"Guess it's good to know that someone else has ambition to get shit done. Unlike that worthless Deku", he grumbled after swallowing.

"I know you said you went to middle school together but what did he do to piss you off so much?", I asked, knowing I was poking the explosive bear.

"Because he's a loser, and he's pathetic. Never able to do anything right or to stand up for himself. And I hate him more now for tricking me all this time", Bakugo angrily said, clenching his chopsticks.

"Tricking you? What do you mean?". This had to be related to him going berserk on the poor kid during the physical.

Bakugo's angry eyes looked past me at another table. I turned ever so slightly to see what he was staring at. It was most of our classmates sitting together, Ochaco, Tenya, and Midoriya all together on one end of the table. The red head I talked to yesterday was also sitting with them, along with the girl with pink skin, the blonde with the black in his hair, and the boy with the weird elbows, He shot tape out of them I think. They all looked to be chatting and having a good time, Midoriya a little awkward however. I glanced back at Bakugo, frowning and glaring at our awkward.

"He was quirkless ever since we were in preschool. He never manifested a quirk, went to the doctor and everything and they said he wouldn't get one. He followed me around all of grade school even though I told him to piss off. And then suddenly he has a quirk now? He fucking tricked me all this time, thinking he was so much better than me that I couldn't even know about his quirk". Bakugo ground his teeth and his red eyes looked back to me.

"I'm going to squash him like the pathetic bug he is".

The ferocity in his eyes was almost terrifying. I made a reminder to never get on this kids bad side. His ambition was amazing, but his temper could be a hinderance to him if he didn't find a way to get it under control.

"You know the best revenge is success, they say", I stuffed a piece of chicken into my mouth.

Bakugo smirked at me, "I like how you think. I just also plan on kicking the shit out of him at least once or twice on the way there".

I looked over at the table again where they all sat. The boy Bakugo hated so much seemed nice, and not the kind of person to deceive a childhood friend like Bakugo claims he had. But I knew nothing about these people yet so I could always be wrong. Aizawa taught how to be perceptive and read other people though, so my first impressions were usually right.

Ochaco caught me staring and smiled and waved at me. I waved back at her. The rest of the table also turned to see who she was waving at. The rest of the table seemed a little shocked that I was sitting with the rude blonde. Midoriya looked in complete shock to see another human sitting with him. Bakugo had been occupied with his phone but I could feel his irritation building as I'm sure he could feel their stares. Or at least their whispers. Bakugo whipped around in his chair, glaring at them all.

"Oi what the fuck you are staring at", he yelled over at them.

Midoriya turned right back around so he was facing away from us. Ochaco looked a little confused and taken aback at his sudden outburst at them all. Especially just for staring.

"Screw this, I'm done anyways. Later star-eyes", he sneered toward me, but I could tell his anger wasn't directed at me.

"Bye Sparky", I mumbled back to him, embarrassed that he was so upset to have other people staring at him since he was sitting with me.

He grabbed his tray and headed off to dump it all and was gone. I let out a sigh. Again, I barely knew this volatile boy but I wanted to be his friend. I also wanted to be friends with my other classmates, even if they did just blatantly stare at him like that. I picked my own tray up and walked over to said table with some of my classmates.

"Well…he sure is, something", Ochaco said trying to diffuse the awkwardness that hung around in the air.

"Kacchan's been like that since we were little, he get angry easily and makes it known to everyone about it", Midoriya said clasping his hands together on the table.

I sat next to the green haired boy. Midoriya called him Kacchan, a term of endearment for someone who hated him, and supposedly who he also disliked and decided to trick. This wasn't making sense.

"Oh it's okay, I'm sure hes just anxious for our first hero courses this afternoon like the rest of us", I waved a hand toward him. "I'm Arai Hikari by the way, nice to officially meet you all".

Midoriya smiled nervously at me, "I'm Midoriya, but you can call me Izuku".

"Deku's super cool!", Ochaco chimed in across the table.

Interesting that she was calling him the same name that Bakugo used as an insult.

"Indeed, Midoriya's quirk is quite good and his ability to observe is also amazing. Your quirk is too, Arai", Tenya said to me.

"You can just call me Hikari", I said to him, and the rest of the table.

"I'm Ashido Mina! Its so nice to meet you Hikari!", the pink girl exclaimed at me.

"I'm Kirishima like I said yesterday", the red head smiled a toothy grin at me. "This is Sero Hanta and Kaminari Denki", he pointed to the guy with the huge elbows and the blonde respectively.

"I'm glad to meet you all", I said to them, bowing my head to each of them.

"That's crazy of you to sit with the explosion guy like that", Mina said, "He doesn't seem very nice".

"Oh? Well we took the same train line yesterday so I got to talk to him for a bit. He's loud and a little rude, but he's definitely himself. I like that about a person", I replied.

"Kacchan always has been honestly himself", Izuku said quietly.

I was about to ask him about Bakugo but the bell rang signaling the end of lunch and that class would start soon.

"We must go! We shouldn't be late to our first day of hero studies, it is unbecoming", Tenya said standing up and turning to dump his tray.

Mina giggled, "He's so formal all the time and so about the rules".

"That can be a good thing", Ochaco told her.

I followed behind them all dumping my tray, and walking back to our classroom. I wondered what our first day of hero studies with All Might was going to be like. I still couldn't believe that he was going to be our teacher. Aizawa had never been very fond of him, he was such a media darling it hurt, but he also praised his abilities as a hero.

* * *

I had returned to my seat and anxiously twirled a pen around in my hands. I had no idea what today was going to be like. Aizawa said we were going to be doing battle training but failed to explain further what that meant. The classroom was a buzz with everyone's excitement. I glanced up from my desk to look at the back of Bakugo's head, which was a little difficult since I had to peek around Yaoyorozu's head to glance up the row. He was leaned back in his chair, looking like a complete slacker. He was however totally calm and looked indifferent. I have no idea how he could be like this since he was such an explosive person, just like at lunch.

"I am here!", shouted All Might as he flung the classroom door open and slid through.

He was dressed in one of his older costumes, but looked just as massive and powerful as ever. He looked out at us all, a giant grin on his face. The room was a buzz with excitement, everyone talking to each other, not even bothering to whisper, about how cool he was. I gripped the pen in my hands. This man was going to help us become heros, even if was a little overzealous. All Might was number one for a reason. Izuku looked like he was going to lose his mind.

"I am here to be your foundational hero studies teacher!", exclaimed All Might, while _flexing_ of course. "We are going to be doing basic battle training today".

A girl with long green hair raised her hand, "Isn't that a little advanced for us? We haven't learned anything yet, ribbit".

"Ah, yes. But this is a job where learning on the fly is an important skill you must master! So we're doing this today to assess where you are at in your training of your quirk."

People mumbled all around me, some of them clearly nervous to have to fight today. I on the other hand was ready for this. My dad and Aizawa-oji didn't spend all their time teaching me to fight and control my quirk for nothing. They had been pushing me since my quirk had manifested itself (I was four and had sneezed while out on the playground and so many stars had shot out of my body I had blown up a slide, but thankfully no one was hurt). I wanted from then on to be exactly like Aizawa-oji, and so my training began then.

"Of course, while being a hero and having the skills is important, so is the look!", All Might joyously said as he hit a button up near the blackboard.

Out of the wall popped cases with our seat numbers on them, 1-21. Everyone else rushed excitedly to grab them their own. With help from both of my dads we had designed my costume. Aizawa-oji had some input too, and some inspiration. I waited until mostly everyone had cleared away and I went to grab mine, number 21. Bakugo also had waited for the herd of people to move out. He nonchalantly grabbed case 17 and smirked at me.

"I bet mine's way cooler than yours", he said, throwing the case over one shoulder.

"What are you five?", I rolled my eyes. "But there's no way yours is as nice as mine Sparky".

Bakugo jutted his lip out at me and then turned to the door, "We're gunna be late if we don't hurt up".

* * *

We walked as a class into the B training grounds, through the tunnel. Some of my classmates certainly had some crazy imaginations to come up with stuff like what they're all wearing. Mina was one of those with her costume just being a loud print, and grapehead looking like he was wearing a diaper.

"You look so cool!", Ochaco exclaimed from behind me.

"Thank you. I like yours too. Very space-agey, which is fitting", I replied to her.

She gripped her helmet tighter, "Yeah but it is a little tight fitting, I'm not sure if I like it".

"You look great! Mine is too, we'll be body suit girls together", I told her confidently.

She smiled a toothy grin at me, before spotting Izuku running up behind us all and went to go talk to him. His face immediately went red upon seeing her. I smiled a little, poor kid was so awkard.

"Yo star-eyes, I told you I got you beat", Bakugo called from a few feet over, hands on his hips.

His costume truly lived up to the name of his quirk; explosion. His irises glaring at me looked even more red as the dark mask over his face provided such a stark contrast. He looked ridiculous with those grenade gauntlets on his arms though. My costume was much more plain, how Aizawa-oji has his. I was in a black body suit that came up to my throat like a turtle neck and was sleeveless. I had on large silver belt, sitting on my hips mostly for show, but it did hold a contractible metal bow staff for extra defense, you never knew what could happen. I had on reflective silver boots, which had specially been designed to allow me to shoot stars out of my feet without blowing them up. The back of the body suit was open in a tear drop shape from the base of my neck down to right above my hips. I could produce stars from anywhere in my body and this way I could keep myself safe from the back. The last bit was that my thick black hair was up in a bun on top of my head so it wasn't in my face.

"Mine might not be as flashy, but it is incredibly thought out", I said rolling my eyes at him and turning my head to look at Ochaco.

"Is your hair dyed like that?", I heard Bakugo say.

My hand touched the back of my head. The lowest part of my hair on the back was white as snow, which I wasn't a fan of, so I kept it shaved short in an undercut, I had some design shaved into it recently for the start of school.

"Nah, its always been like that. It won't dye at all so I just shave it to keep it out of the way. My hairs really thick anyways, make it easier to manage", I ran my fingers over it.

"Boys and girls you look so cool!", All Might exclaimed.

I looked around at my classmates, some of them did look pretty neat. Kirishima looked fierce with his metal face mask and gear like shoulder coverings. Yaoyorozu was in a body suit exposing just about everything, probably due to her quirk, the boy with bicolored hair had his entire left side encased in ice a red eye in the face mask. Someone, I'm sure Tenya as I glanced over everyone, was in a full suit of armor and looked like a knight. Izuku and Ochaco had moved up out of the tunnel, the boy in all green rabbit like ears atop his head and a mask over his mouth. He looked like a stuffed animal almost.

"Now that everyone is ready and looking their best! I'm going to push you ahead. Most of what you see on the news is villains running amuck outside. But most battles and incidents occur in buildings. From saving civilians to stopping underground crime rings, you will be fighting inside", All Might exclaimed excitedly.

"You'll be split into teams of two and fight two on two. One group will be heroes and one will be villains".

"This seems a little soon isn't it?", Said a girl with long green hair dressed in a frog like costume.

"I believe in learning from experience! And there is no better way to get that than to start now on the battle field!", All Might said gesturing to the fake city behind him.

"Will you be deciding who wins?", Yaoyorozu asked raising her hand.

"How much can we hurt the other team?", Bakugo said leaning in towards him.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him out of the corner of my eyes, "What is wrong with you?", I muttered at him.

"What, we're either fighting villains or are playing villains. It's a valid question, star eyes", he grumbled back at me, a smirk on his face.

"I'm not done explaining", All Might interjected in a booming voice, the class had started firing questions off in a panic. "The scenario is like this. The group of villains have hidden a nuclear weapon in their base. The heroes are there to stop them, you must either capture the evildoers or recover the weapon by touching it. To decide teams, we'll be drawing lots. Since there's an odd number of you, there will be one group of three".

"Isn't there a better way sir?", Tenya asked.

I rolled my eyes slightly at him. Izuku interjected explaining how heroes team up with each other all the time at random depending on where you are in the city. Tenya apologized and bowed to All Might. The poor guy was too serious for his own good honestly.

"It's all right! Let's draw!", All Might offered up a giant box for us all to pull from.

I reached inside the box right after Ochaco and Izuku, who had somehow wound up together, and pulled out the letter D, and _thankfully_ I wasn't a part of the group of three for this. I barely know anyone here well enough to work in just a group of two. It looked like it was Tenya who was a part of the group of three, along with Kirishima and Sero. I felt someone looking over my shoulder.

"Looks like we're together Star eyes", Bakugo grumbled at me.

I took a step away from him, he was a lot closer than I thought he'd be. "Guess so. I mean we can both blow shit up, so we could make a pretty destructive team".

I got a smirk from him out of that, "Yeah, just don't try and tell me what to do".

"We're supposed to be a team Sparky", I reminded him.

Bakugo made a tch noise and turned his head away, looking back at All Might.

"Okay! These guys will be going first!", said teacher exclaimed.

He held a ball with the letter A and one with the letter D. We'd be going first, lovely. And also as villains. Team A was Izuku and Ochaco playing the heroes. This probably wasn't the best match up, especially since Bakugo tried to beat up Izuku yesterday in front of my uncle. Said blonde was glaring at the poor kid currently. Izuku looked incredibly nervous.

"Villains go ahead and go in and get set up. The heroes will start in five minutes. Everyone else can head to viewing room", All Might bellowed, unaware of the tension between two of his students.

"Yes sir!", the rest of the class called.

All Might walked up to me and handed me a two ear pieces, "This way you can hear me and each other during this. The way to succeed here is to think like a villain ", he grinned and gave me a thumbs up. Then handing a pair to Ochaco.

"Bakugo lets go", I turned to hand him one of the ear pieces. He was glaring daggers into Izuku.

Izuku was staring back, not with hatred like Bakugo, but determined. Bakugo visibly growled in reponse, refusing to break eye contact. Stupid boys. I reached out and rested my hand lightly on his shoulder.

"Sparky we got to go set up", I said calmly.

Bakugo shook my hand off his shoulder, and stalked away to the building that was our "evil lair". I looked over at Izuku whose faced showed a mixture of emotions.

"Well, Good luck", I said to him and followed my explosive partner.

* * *

I walked into the room where the fake weapon sat, it was almost hysterically fake looking, like in a cheesy action movie. Bakugo stood just in the door way, incredibly tense. His eyes glared at the weapon behind me.

"Hey, I know you don't like him. But we can beat him fair in this assignment".

"There isn't a we", he spat at me, "I'm going to beat that nerd today, all by myself. I don't need your help".

I wanted to shove my hand straight into his mouth. "You know that isn't how I meant it. We have to do this together to win this. You can't go charging off on your own and expect this to go well."

He simply glowered at me in return, not even bothering with a response. I rolled my eyes and chucked the ear piece at him, he caught it easily.

"What's the plan? We probably only have a few more minutes before the other team can come in", I asked shaking my legs out.

"I'm going to go destroy Deku, you stay here and stay out of my way", Bakugo growled at me.

"Are you sure that's best? You might not even find them."

"I'm going to find him and destroy him, that bastard will pay!".

I went to open my mouth again but the buzzer sounded that meant the heroes could enter. Bakugo took off through the door without a second glance at me, footsteps pounding down the hallway and to heroes.

"God dammit!", I yelled out the door and into the headset.

"Language Miss Arai", All Might scolded over the headset.

I rolled my eyes at that, I learned how to curse at a young age thanks to Aizawa, much to my dads dismay, and I wasn't about to stop now. I looked around the room, it was full of empty boxes and other junky items. I sighed, if Bakugo doesn't find them and they get here first anything that's a loose object is up for her quirk to use. I swore again under my breath and went to work removing everything from the room except the weapon. I'm sure I looked like a crazy person as I threw everything out a window.

Once everything had gone out the window, literally, I sat down in front of the giant "nuke" and decided to just sit and meditate until something else happened. I could hear Bakugo running through the halls, until finally an explosion. He must have found them. He was shouting at them both and then there was a thump and I heard him groan out in pain. There was some more shouting and another explosion.

"What is going on?", I yelled at him into the ear piece.

"Get back here!", he yelled, ignoring me.

"Sparky what happened!".

"Deku ran off and I'm going to find him. Round face split when he told her to leave", he yelled finally responding.

"She's probably looking for me then", I said thinking aloud.

"You were tricking me for years by acting weak. Bet you've been laughing behind my back!", Bakugo yelled.

I could continue to hear him run and scream on about other stuff like that. Something serious must have happened between them, I could almost feel his anger through the head set. It was full of pain.

I was roused from my thoughts as I caught a glimpse of Ochaco's helmet around the corner. She would need to work on sneaking around for sure. I flew to my feet and held my hands out in front of me.

"You aren't very good at hiding you know", I said calmly, lighting both my hands up with energy.

She squeaked and poked all of her head back around the wall. "I guess so, huh?".

She began muttering into her own head piece, probably to update her partner on the situation. I didn't give her too much of a chance as I shot two stars right at her feet to scare her and send her off balance, which she did fall back behind the wall. I casually kept throwing stars at the doorway to keep her out in the hall.

"Bakugo, Ochaco is here. You need to get Midoriya", I said calmly.

"Shut up, I know!", he yelled at me through the headset.

I stopped throwing stars. "I won't let you get through to this, you should just forfeit now", I called to her.

Ochaco didn't reappear around the wall, she was probably talking to Izuku again on what to do. I heard my own partner start screaming again, a garbled voice answering him. Sparky must have found him. It was shortly after that that the entire building was rocked by an explosion.

"Bakugo what did you do!", I asked concerned.

Damn boy was going to blow the whole building up with us inside it. Ochaco took advantage of the distraction to try and make a leap for the weapon, using her quirk to float herself above my head. I jumped and shot stars out of my feet, flying up to where she was. I grabbed her by both ankles and threw her back across to the other side of the room. Ochaco went flying and she bumped into the wall sliding down. I grimaced as I landed.

"Sorry didn't mean to get you that far", I called to her. "But I'm not letting you take the weapon."

She waved a hand at me as she gathered herself, mumbling back to Izuku in the head piece. I had no idea what was going on with the other two boys, but I was probably going to go deaf with all the screaming and explosions in my ear. I made a mental note to give him some shit for that later. Ochaco stood and braced herself against one of the stone pillars. I took a step back and leaned against the "nuke".

"Gunna give up yet?", I called in a playful way.

Ochaco smiled back at me as she hugged the pillar, "Nah!".

The floor began trembling and a huge wave of energy shot straight up through it, breaking it apart into a thousand different pieces. I stood mouth agape, this had to have been something Izuku managed. The whole room was being torn to pieces, the pillar Ochaco clung to having also come apart from the wall.

"Sorry Hikari-chan! Comet home run!", She cheerfully yelled, as she picked it up with her quirk and swung it like a baseball bat, sending all of the debris flying at me.

"Oh shit!", I yelled.

I threw my arms up generating giant stars to melt everything and shield myself from the oncoming attack of floor chunks flying at me. Ochaco once again jumped and floated herself over my head, soaring alongside all the debris. I turned in an attempt to grasp her again, but she released herself and landed atop the weapon, holding it with her entire body.

"Got it!", she cheerfully called.

I stood as the dust settled. I can't believe she pulled the same move on me twice and got over me. I walked over and reached a hand up to her, she let go of the "nuke" and she landed gracefully and took it.

"That was pretty amazing!", I complimented her.

"Thanks! You're so strong though and you can fight", Ochaco grinned at me.

"We'll have to train together then", I replied.

All Might's voice came on over the speaker system, "The hero team wins!".

I knew this wouldn't go over well with Bakugo, he clearly was competitive and this would be a hit losing our fight simulated fight to his childhood friend like this. Ochaco's hands flew to her mouth as she dropped to her knees. Her face looked green.

"Oh god, are you okay?", I asked, kneeling down next to her.

* * *

After Ochaco felt a bit better we went back to join the others in the viewing room. Bakugo was already there, red eyes looking down at his boots, and Midoriya was nowhere to be seen. I continued to rub Ochaco's back a little as she still looked quite ill.

"Now despite the results, the MVP of this exercise is clearly Hikari!", All Might boomed happily at me.

I gave him a look, "Sir my team didn't win. That doesn't make any sense."

"Ah yes, would someone like to venture a guess as to why it isn't one of the heroes?", All Might asked the rest of the class, looking to see how much they were paying attention.

Yaoyarozu raised her hand and began a very detailed analysis of what had just transpired. Apparently the large blast had been Bakugo thanks to those ridiculous gauntlets on his arms, and the floor being destroyed was Midoriya just punching through the air with his quirk and the resulting energy wave from it.

"Hikari is the only one who tried to take this seriously, she didn't do anything reckless like the other three had, and even though she lost the weapon she handled the situation she was given most appropriately", she concluded.

I gave her a small smile. This may be true but only because Aizawa has trained me and taught me to already critically think in situations.

"Alright boys and girls let's get this ball rolling and see whose next!", All Might exclaimed as he pulled the next two teams to fight.

I glanced at Bakugo as he stood there, still looking at his shoes. His eyes seemed empty, like he was almost in shock. I gently tapped his shoulder with just my index finger to get his attention.

"Hey, you in there?", I asked quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to him.

He looked up at me a frown on his face, but his eyes still looked void of anything.

"Course I am Star eyes", he grumbled at me. "Just tired and dehydrated, quirk does that".

"You have to sweat to get it to work yeah? Let's go get some water and come back to watch the next fight yeah?", I said trying not to appear too worried.

Bakugo simply nodded and headed off to find his water bottle. I followed after him. He looked like hell, but I wasn't about to tell him that, and I hadn't seen him be this quiet. Something was wrong, but now definitely wasn't the time to go poking into it.

* * *

 **A/N: There it is ladies and gentlemen, a whole two weeks and 6,000 words later but I finally updated. I promise I'll try my best to update more regularly now that my schedule is a little more chill. Let me know what you think! Till next time!**

 **~Vic**


	4. Friends Let Friends Climb On Each Other

**A/N: Hey guys! This took a little longer than I wanted it too, I'm starting to go brain dead from not being in school anymore and having the constant deadlines keeping me on track. This chapter stretches through a lot and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, but here it is! Have fun and let me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

Four: Friends Let Friends Climb On Each Other

* * *

I watched closely as my fellow classmates battled it out in the scenario I had just finished. Todoroki, the boy with bicolored hair, froze the entire building. He did well in the fitness tests but he already had more control over his quirk than most others our age. It was fascinating getting to see everyone else's quirks really used to their best ability unlike the fitness tests. I side eyed Bakugo the entire time, just to see how he was doing. He seemed to get more anxious every time someone's quirk looked incredibly strong. I could see the tension in his shoulders and back, his hands clenched. Crimson eyes wide and shaking. His quirk was arguably one of the best here, he was also smart, excelled in every subject, and had an amazing combat sense. At least from what I heard from Kirishima, I hadn't watched the recording of his fight yet but he said it was insane how good Bakugo was.

But now that it was over and we were watching and analyzing the next one, the ferocity that had the whole class nervously abuzz was absent. He looked incredibly unsure and insecure watching from the back as Todoroki melted the ice from the building. I wanted to reach out and put an arm on his shoulder to comfort him. I had a feeling he didn't want to be touched, I had already risked my finger twice today and I was worried he would snap on me if I tried to rouse him from his thoughts. I wasn't sure what to do at this point.

"All right, we'll have the current teams come back to debrief and send the next two teams in!", All Might bellowed at us.

Good god did he shout all the time? He had drawn two more letters and four more students readied themselves to try and impress the number one hero that was towering above us.

"He sure is loud, huh", I whispered to the volatile blonde next to me.

Bakguo didn't respond, I turned to look at him. His eyes empty, looking at the blank screen in front of us all. He gripped his water bottle too tight, twisting the lid back and forth on top of it.

"Hey, you going deaf or something?", I leaned in closer.

He jumped a little and turned to look at me, "Fuck you, no I'm not".

"You just seem to be really spacey now. We should watch carefully how everyone's quirks work, we might have to do simulations like this again and it's better to know what we'll go up against and how we can work with others to win", I said to him.

Bakugo snorted and capped his water bottle, "These are a bunch of nobodies, I don't care about them and their quirks".

I was going to bite back at him when All Might shouted for the next two groups to start. I sighed and turned back to look at the screen. This was going to a long day getting through all of the fight scenarios and our afternoon classes on quirk laws and hero studies.

* * *

After everyone had gone All Might walked us back to the entrance of the training ground. A lot of my class looked worn out, Bakugo was still quiet. Someone had made a comment about the positivity All Might displayed and that it was nice change from Aizawa. Most of the class agreed. I had frowned at that. Yes, my uncle was unconventional, but he was one of the best teachers here. Not to mention he was always exhausted. He fought all the time off campus as a pro hero and his quirk put incredible strain on his eyes. They should have more respect for him, and we can't all be plucky like All Might. That'd be so annoying.

We had time to change and were given a small break before we had afternoon hero studies. We got to review the recordings of everyone's fights today. Bakugo was ferocious, and had incredible instinct like Kirishima had said. He had blasted Midoriya as a fake out and changed his direction midair to surprise him from behind. His athletic prowess surpassed most of the others here. Sero, Todoroki, and I were probably the only ones who could compare to his physical maneuverability.

The final bell rang at last, and Aizawa dismissed us for the day. I jumped up to go talk to him.

"How did I do Aizawa-sensei?", I asked addressing him formally.

A wild smile peeked out from behind his heavy scarf, "You did great kiddo. Midoriya and Ochaco caught you guys by surprise there at the end, but that would've been a horrible move for a hero to cause so much destruction, as we've already discussed."

I beamed at him. Few people made me smile the way he did.

"Thank you, sensei", I bowed to him.

He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, "Oh don't be so formal with me, you know I'm not big on it with any other student as it is anyway. You also kept your cool really well even though Bakugo took off like that and didn't want to cooperate."

I nodded. "He can be difficult, but I like him. He's himself, no fake shit", I whispered to him since I was cussing in the classroom.

"Watch your mouth young lady", he teased at me.

"Oh please, I learned it from you uncle", I threw back at him grinning.

"I'll come by and take the train with you to school tomorrow, huh? We can go get coffee", he said.

"I'd love that!", I replied excitedly.

"Good. Don't oversleep", he waved a goodbye and headed out the door.

"I wouldn't be the one to oversleep", I called after him, rolling my eyes.

"He's part of your family, right? I don't know why you'd be so friendly to our crazy homeroom teacher otherwise", Kirishima asked, coming up to me.

I nodded to the redhead, "Yes. He's a good friend of my dad, he trained him in boxing and a lot of his hand to hand when he was younger. Toshio loved him a lot. By the time I was five and could actually start boxing and karate, he was twenty and I just took a shine to him instantly. I started swearing at a young age because of him, Toshio and Kazuo were not thrilled about that".

Kirishima laughed, "That's so cool though that you know a pro hero so well. Even if he's not super well known".

"Well yeah, the media likes to get in the way and stir drama up. He doesn't get involved with that, it isn't logical".

Kirishima went to reply when the door abruptly slammed shut on the track. I looked up to see what had happened. Ochaco looked upset and Iida looked annoyed for her.

"What happened?", I asked.

"I just said to Bakugo that he should stay and wait for Midoriya to get back but he wouldn't listen to me, said some mean stuff, and just slammed the door", Ochaco huffed.

"He is so incredibly rude!", Iida chided. "How can he do that to a girl and fellow classmate".

"They don't get along, as you all saw today. He should've been nicer but I understand why he left", I told her.

The door opened again behind Ochaco, and there stood the green haired boy in question.

"Deku!", she shouted happily.

A couple of our classmates went to go crowd him in the doorway. He looked pretty rough still, his one arm bandaged up and in a sling. Idiot needs to be more careful with himself, he won't make it to graduation at this rate.

"Your dodging was so cool!", Mina exclaimed to him.

"Where's Bakugo?", he asked looking over their heads at the rest of us.

Ochaco frowned, "I told him to stay and wait for you but he just wouldn't listen. You just missed him, he left a minute ago".

Something sparked in Midoriya's eyes. "I gotta go", He said and turned around running out the open door.

"Oh shit", I said under my breath.

I ran back to my seat and shoved everything sloppily into my bad and threw it over my shoulder. I pushed through the crowd still at the door to go after him.

"Where are you going!", Ochaco called after me.

"To stop him from making the situation worse!", I threw over my shoulder.

I booked it to the front doors of the school, sliding down a banister to skip the stairs. This kid was hurt bad and could still run fast. I made it out the front door and stopped on the steps. Midoirya had already stopped Bakugo and was talking to him already. I wasn't sure how best to intervene. I couldn't hear Midoriya from here, Bakugo only looking over his shoulders. I could see the anxiety building up on his face again, along with some anger.

"Did you come to rub it in? I lost, okay! And it had to be fucking you!", Bakugo shouted now, loud enough for me to hear.

"While I watched that stupid ice guy, I realized I couldn't beat him in one on one fight! I even agreed with that ponytail girl, my attack was so stupid, damn it!", he cried smacking a hand over his eyes.

I was frozen to the spot. Bakugo was incredibly distressed. A slew of curse words came out of his mouth.

"Enjoy your pathetic win, Deku! You won't get another one while we're here. I will become the number one hero no matter what happens!", he screamed, tears escaping out of his eye. "You'll never beat me, so don't even try!".

Bakugo turned sharply, one hand stuffed into his pockets, the other wiping at his face as he walked away to the entrance. I could visibly see Midoriya sigh and take a step back. Why he thought coming out here and trying to talk to him while he's so upset was a good idea is beyond me. They might have been childhood friends, but he clearly wasn't good at reading people emotionally.

There was a sudden rush of wind past me that made me take a step to the side, "The fu—".

"Bakugo! I have found you!", All Might exclaimed loud enough that I could hear, even if he was facing the other direction, several yards away.

I couldn't hear the next bit though as he talked to the spiky blonde, one arm still rubbing his eyes. All Might took his hands off his shoulders and took a step back from him. Bakugo continued on past the entrance gate and down the street. I walked up to Midoriya, looking a little nervous at the exchange that just happened.

"Hey, I know you left trying to help. But sometimes giving people space is what they need. His prides been hurt from losing today", I said to Midoriya, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know what all happened between you two for your relationship to get this way", that wasn't a really a lie, "But maybe pick a better moment to declare yourself next time, huh?".

Midoriya turned to look at me, his green eyes confused. They landed on my hand on his shoulder and his entire face went pink. "Oh, u-uh yeah!", He said.

I took my hand off quickly, stuffing it into my blazer pocket. "Sorry, didn't want to make you uncomfortable!", I interjected quickly.

"N-no, you're fine!", he shot back, hiding his face behind his hands.

"Cool. I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?", I said smiling.

"Y-yeah!", he gave a shy smile back.

* * *

"Toshio! Kazuo! I'm home!", I called as I slipped off my boots by the door.

"I'm in here lovely", Toshio called from the kitchen.

I walked into the kitchen and found him preparing dinner. I washed my hands so I could help him.

"How was school today?", he asked me smiling.

"It was good, we had our first day of hero training with All Might. The kids in my class are nice but are also pretty crazy. Is Kazuo home?".

"Nah, he's still in the studio. Some American artist flew in and their flight got all messed up so they got in late, so he won't be home for a while. Figured we'd eat now so you can start on your homework. You have to come into the gym this weekend! We got some amazing new kids, I wanted to show you off, have you kick their butts a little, yeah?", Toshio told me, chopping vegetables.

"Of course, anything for you dad".

I listened to him talk all about the gym and kids, and some up and coming young fighter all through diner, nodding and replying when best. I was just exhausted from today and really just wanted to shower and finish my homework so I could sleep. Once I had finished my meal and helped with the dishes I excused myself upstairs to my room. I fell over onto the plush black comforter on my bed and sighed into the pillows. Today's training was crazy and I didn't even do anything that bad physically. Watching Bakugo fight on our recording though was mind blowing. He obviously didn't have the hand to hand experience like I did with my training, but he had such control over his quirk.

But his face after our fight and all during the rest of our class. He looked broken and empty. It was such a minor fight but he had taken the hit like one straight to the gut. I wanted to poke more into it but with the way he left after both Izuku and All Might had bothered him already. Guess I'll just have to bug him tomorrow, maybe bring him coffee.

"I don't even know what he likes though", I groaned aloud. "Ugh".

I convinced myself to get up and to my desk to fly through the math problems Ectoplasm had given us even though they weren't due for a while.

* * *

I was awoken by a sharp tapping on my window. I was certain it was just a bird and my alarm hadn't gone off so I rolled over and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Shhhh birdy, gotta sleep", I mumbled.

The tapping turned into knocking. I heard a muffled 'Hikari' coming through the glass. Okay definitely not a bird then. I sat up to look at the window above my bed. And there was Aizawa, dangling upside down in front of my window by his scarf, a grin on his face. I stood and opened it.

"The hell? Why can't you use the door like a normal person?", I scolded him.

"This is more fun. Plus I don't want any villains finding out where you live, I won't put you and your dads in danger", he droned climbing in through the window.

"Have you been up all night?", I stared at him incredulously.

"Yep, definitely need that coffee now. I'll be downstairs for ya when you're ready to go catch the train", he said through a yawn.

Forty-five minutes later and a trip through the Starbucks across from our stop to get to campus, we were walking up the hill to UA. Aizawa had ordered a giant iced coffee, black of course. The man looked more ragged than ever, the bags under his eyes packed full of sleepless nights fighting villains and grading schoolwork. He sucked on his drink with his eyes almost closed. He needed to sleep soon.

Upon hitting the crest of the hill, the campus came into view. The glass building twinkling in the sun light. The sun was still rising some, we were here early. Only a few other students were making their way into the gate to the grounds. And a giant crowd of reporters stood outside it.

"Why are they all here?", I asked Aizawa.

He gave a huge yawn and looked at them apathetically. "All Might I'm sure. Damn nosy media".

I nodded in agreement and sipped on my latte. It was only the second day of class, nothing exciting had happened and they want to bother our teacher? More reasons why I didn't like the media and how nosy they were. I planned on being like my uncle and staying the hell away from it. I didn't want them following me everywhere.

We breached the group and they threw questions at us left and right. I kept the straw gripped between my teeth and rolled my eyes. We made it to the front when a woman shoved a microphone in my face.

"Are you one of All Mights students? What is he like as a teacher?", she asked loudly.

I stopped and glared at her, "You're all so annoying, go away."

She pulled her microphone back and frowned at me. I rolled my eyes in return and walked through the gate, Aizawa telling off many a reporter already and none of them listening. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that another reporter was talking to a student that was briskly walking up the sidewalk and didn't seem to be letting up, despite the quick walk. I turned to look and realized it was Bakugo. Also being harassed about All Might.

"Oh wait! You're that sludge monster kid!", she shouted in recognition.

Bakugo stopped, slouched forward and shoulders tense, his jaw clenched tightly. "Walk away", he hissed through his teeth.

The reporter looked terrified and backed away quickly, the blonde stalking forward and into the gate. I waited for him and joined his quick stride up to the front entrance. He looked incredibly annoyed already and class hadn't even started.

"Morning Sparky", I said through chewing my straw.

Bakugo simply grunted in response to me. We walked silently through the halls and into our classroom. No one else was there yet. Bakugo threw his bag on his desk and plopped down into his seat. I sat my bag on my lone desk in the back and came back up to lean on the desk next to his.

"Crazy how nosy the media can be, huh? They shouldn't be able to stand out there and bother us but at least they can't get into the school", I said casually.

The blonde simply leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk, staring off out the window. I looked at his profile, a frown on his face, his jaw clenched. He made no noise in recognition or anything. He must not like small talk like this. I wasn't a huge fan of it either but talking to others could be so hard. I didn't really want to poke into what happened yesterday but I also really wanted to know what All Might had said to him.

I went to open my mouth to ask him but the classroom door opened and Kirishima walked through the door, still looking sleepy. His eyes landed on us both and he smiled.

"Good morning! I see you're also both early", he said setting his bag down on his desk.

"Yeah, I got coffee with Aizawa-sensei so we wanted to leave early", I replied raising my drink at him.

Bakugo made no noise in response and didn't move at all. Kirishima walked over to our side of the classroom, a grin on his face despite the others cool attitude.

"He always looks so tired and naps in class", he said to me, leaning against the windows.

"Yeah, he's up most nights fighting off villains and then he's here teaching us all day so he doesn't sleep as much as he should", I said sucking down some more caffeine.

"Idiot needs to take care of himself", Bakugo finally grumbled out.

"Ah, hes alive!", I exclaimed sarcastically at him.

He turned and shot me a glare, "What the fuck Star-eyes".

"Aw dude, she's just joking around", Kirishima came to my defense.

"Whatever shitty hair", he rolled his eyes.

"My hair isn't that different from yours!", Kirishima huffed and pointed at both of them.

"He's got a point Sparky", I added.

Kirishima and Bakugo went to bicker on about their hair and I just sat there drinking my coffee. Some of our other classmates had started to filter into the room, sitting at their desks already. I realized Iida was here when he started yelling at both Bakugo and I for disrespecting the desks. I apologized and headed back to my seat but Bakugo decided to start arguing with him now too. He seemed a little like himself again.

"Sure is noisy this morning", Yaoyorozu said as she sat down sideways in her chair.

"Yeah it is, but I feel like this is pretty normal", I sighed.

"Hero students do tend to be rowdy, but I do like it", She smiled at me.

"Class is getting ready to start! Take your seats!", Iida shouted loudly, still at Bakugo's desk.

"Everyone's sitting but you Iida", Asui called from the other side of the room.

The blue haired boy blushed slightly and hurried to his seat, I swear he was mumbling sorry as he ran back over to his seat. Aizawa opened the door and walked through, giant iced coffee, almost gone, in one hand and his yellow sleeping bag in the other. He looked just as trashed as he did when he climbed through my window.

"Good morning. You have a very important task today", he said blandly. "You need to pick a class rep today."

The room exploded into noise as almost everyone started waving their hand asking to be chosen. I rolled my eyes and leaned back into my seat. Normally no one would want this job since it was just extra work, but in the hero course it was a way to prove leadership and to get noticed by agencies. I didn't care, I didn't want to be in the spotlight, I planned on working with Aizawa and keeping away from the media, but most of my classmates craved the attention and wanted to stand out. I can work with others, but I want to be a solo hero.

"Everyone please! We won't get anything done with us all shouting like this", Iida called above the uproar. "We must hold an election and decide our leader that way. Isn't that best Aizawa-sensei!".

Aizawa had already zipped himself into his bag at the front of the room.

"I don't care what you do about it just decide before my nap is over", he said as he crawled under the desk up front.

The room erupted into noise, again. Iida trying to regain control over the situation by going up to the board to start taking votes for people. I sucked down the rest of my coffee, shaking the now empty cup and having the ice rattle. The boy with bicolored hair, Todoroki?, turned to look over his shoulder at me.

"That's annoying", he said monotone.

"This whole thing right now is annoying", I replied, but set my cup down anyways.

He turned back to face the front and I picked up a pen to fidget with instead. As Iida was going down the rows everyone so far had been voting for themselves. Yaoyorozu was called on next and she also voted for herself.

"Arai? One for you then?", Iida asked, clearly disappointed with how this was going.

I sighed and sat up straight. The younger brother to Ingenium clearly wanted this position but was trying to handle the situation as best he could without it making it too obvious that he wanted it,

"Nah", I said loudly.

Everyone turned to look at me, all alone in the back corner.

"I don't want the stress, and I plan on proving myself in other ways than just being class rep. I vote for you Iida, you got control over the class quickly to carry this whole voting thing out. I trust you to be good at this", I said looking him in the eye.

His face went slightly pink as he returned my stare.

"Thank you, Arai-san", he said bowing to me.

"Again, you can just call me Hikari. No need for the formalities", I said waving a hand in his direction.

It went to Todoroki next, who surprisingly voted for Yayorozu and not himself. Continuing down the lines though everyone continued to vote for themselves until it got Kirishima.

"I was going to vote for myself, but then I really thought about it and wanted to vote for Hikari instead. But if she doesn't want it and trusts you, then I vote for Iida as well", he said grinning.

Kirishima turned and gave me a thumbs up and a huge smile. I returned it with a small one of my own. Looks like I might have made a friend with the spiky red head.

The voting ended with three for Iida and two for Yaoyorozu, so we had our new class rep and deputy rep for the class.

Aizawa emerged from the under the desk, still in his sleeping bag.

"You've decided then? Good, lets get started shall we".

* * *

"Let's sit together at lunch Hikari!", Kirishima exclaimed coming over to my desk.

I was pulling out my packed lunch, dad sent me off with leftovers from the night before. I glanced quickly to the blonde, who was also pulling out a packed lunch as well.

"Sure. Bakugo, come eat with us", I called to him.

He looked back at the two of us as he stood out of his seat, that familiar frown on his face. He at least seemed less upset than he did yesterday after school at least.

"Tch, whatever losers", he said and turned to walk out.

Kirishima didn't look deterred at all by the insult, "Lets just follow him and corner him. He'll have to sit with us that way."

Which is exactly what we did. We followed him into the cafeteria, he chose a table back in the corner, and he sat. I sat across from him as Kirishima went to go buy lunch.

"Don't follow me around star eyes", he said plainly as he unpacked his lunch.

"Oh, come on, we sat together yesterday. Even if there was that big scene with everyone staring at you and then you stormed off. I just want to be your friend", I said to him, looking down at the table with that last bit.

He was silent for a moment. "Why would you want to be my friend?".

I looked back up at him, red iris' curiously searching my own eyes. Like he was looking for a reason not to trust me, that I would lie and trick him like Izuku supposedly had.

"I think you're interesting. Yeah, you're rude, but you're completely honest and you're yourself. That can be hard to find. I don't like liars or fakes", I said biting into my food.

He made a tch-ing noise and he took a bite of his own food, it looked like spicy curry. He chewed for a long time and then swallowed looking back at me.

"Don't expect me to start being nice to you, just because you might become my friend, alright?", he said quietly.

I smiled at him, "Wouldn't dream of it explosion boy".

He rolled his eyes at me, "You're so annoying constellation face".

"Constellation face? That's the best you can do?".

"I can call you fuckwad instead".

"Whatever you want, asshole", I smirked at him.

Kirishima finally made it back and sat down next to me.

"Yo! What did I miss!"

"Nothing, shitty hair", Bakugo said plainly.

"You're rude, you know that?", the red head said simply.

We sat there eating together, Bakugo making quips at Kirishima. But it was all in good fun. I smiled to myself, I guess I've found some pretty cool people to hang out with. Ochaco and Midoriya too. Maybe we'd all sit together sometime.

My thoughts were interrupted by an alarm going off. The three of us looked around at the rest of the cafeteria. Everyone else present also looked as confused.

" _There's been a level three security breach. Please evacuate the building in a calm and timely fashion", a voice boomed out of the PA system._

The cafeteria was thrown into chaos, all the students running for the main exit doors. I stood up quickly, as did Bakugo and Kirishima.

"The hell is going on", Bakugo asked loudly to no one in particular.

Kaminari came running to our table, coming to a stop right next Kirishima.

"Apparently it means that someone has made it inside the barrier of the school. We need to go!", he urged us.

Kirishima was quick to follow him and they both headed for the exit. I looked at Bakugo who was still standing there across the table.

"Come on, I'm sure the teachers will have whatever it is handled. Let just go", I pointed to the door where students were heading too.

He nodded and we both ran for the exit and into the hallway. Other student quickly crammed in behind us as we squished forward out of the cafeteria. Everyone was panicking and pushing us forward. I was getting elbowed left and right as other students pushed to try and get out.

I turned slightly and was suddenly caught up in the current of bodies, and being pushed away from Bakugo.

"Bakugo!", I yelled above the crowd, trying to turn around and get back to him.

I felt a hand grab back of my blazer and was yanked backwards through people until I came to a stop with my back against another person. They didn't let go.

"Lets try and get to the side! We can wait for everyone to calm down!", Bakugo yelled in my ear.

"Okay!", I yelled back.

I carefully put my arm around him, gripping the sleeve of his blazer as he began pushing us through the crowd. We soon made it to the windows, but I was quickly shoved into his back, pinning him against the windows.

"Sorry!", I yelled.

I looked out the window over his shoulder, I realized we were practically the same height being stuck this close to him, and I saw that the front sidewalk was lined with the reporters from this morning.

"The media are the ones who broke in somehow!", Bakugo yelled at me over his shoulder.

"Then nothing's wrong! There aren't any bad guys here, everyone is panicking over nothing, we have to tell them!", I shouted back.

"Hah? Why do we gotta tell everyone, the teachers should be here soon!".

"Do you wanna stay stuck against the glass being elbowed or get everyone to calm down!", I yelled. God, he could be selfish.

He finally grunted in agreement. Only after someone had almost elbowed him in the side of the head.

"What do we do?".

"Let me get on your shoulders so I'm above everyone! I get everyone's attention with my quirk and tell them what's going on!".

I could tell he wasn't pleased about it, but he pushed us both away from the windows giving us some more room. He then squatted low enough that I put one foot on his thigh and swung my opposite leg over his shoulder. He gripped my leg and I swung the other leg up and he grabbed that one too. He then managed to turn us around and braced his back against the glass.

"You're heavy, star-eyes", he shouted up at me.

I hit him lightly on the head, "Yeah, cuz I'm all muscle ya loser!".

I lit both of my hands up with my quirk, shooting a few stars off to float up above everyone.

"Calm down guys!", I yelled as loudly as I could.

The crowd seemed to slow at least as they looked up at my stars, but they weren't any calmer. I could see Kirishima and Kaminari both trying to get others to calm down and stop pushing ahead of us in the hall. I looked back to see Ochaco reaching for Iida. Who then shot up into the air, thanks to her quirk I'm sure.

He rolled his school pants up above his knees, exposing the engines in his calves. He fired them up like when he runs, and they shot him forward spinning in circles, until he slammed against the wall over the exit.

"Everyone please! Calm down! It's just the press outside! There is no threat to us! We are UA students and we must behave accordingly!", he shouted.

The crowd had come to a stop and everyone had quieted. The panic that was once thick in the was now dissipating. People in the front began moving at a reasonable pace out the exit, others doubled back to the cafeteria since there wasn't anything wrong. Once enough people had cleared out I swung one leg off the blonde and he set me down.

"Thank god that's over!", I said smoothing my skirt out.

"Yeah, just don't think I'll be picking you up like that again", he grumbled at me fixing his blazer collar.

"Hikari! Bakugo! I'm glad you're okay!", Kirishima called running up to us from down the hall. "That was crazy, but I saw your stars. They're so cool!".

"Thanks! I was hoping to get everyone's attention and tell them what happened. Bakugo and I got shoved into the glass".

"Bunch of idiots, I'm going to go finish my lunch", the blonde stated and turned back to the cafeteria.

"Let's go. I'm glad you weren't trampled either, Kiri", I said following Bakugo.

"Me too, Hiakri. Me too."

* * *

 **A/N: There it is! I promise I'l try to update sooner. Till next time!**

 **~ Vic**


	5. Unforeseen Danger

**A/N: First of all thank you Prince for all your sweet reviews, I love hearing from you, It makes me feel like it's worth it to keep writing and posting this story.**

 **This was a doozy to write let me tell you, it's also 7800 word's which is just nuts for me. A lot happens in this chapter, but I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

Five: Unforeseen Danger

* * *

"So, you're telling me that the school isn't entirely sure how all the press got in yesterday?", I asked skeptically.

Aizawa shrugged his shoulders at me, "The principal is pretty sure a villain had to be involved to get them in, but nothing else was disturbed on campus yesterday so we have no idea what they might want."

He took a bite of his sandwich and I stared down at my lap thoughtfully. Aizawa had asked me to eat lunch with him today in one of the teachers lounges and I had to oblige him since we hadn't had the chance yet. I was suspicious that it was also because of yesterday's break in he wanted to keep a closer eye on me as well, but I let it slide.

Today had been dreadfully boring compared to yesterday, morning classes were already starting to crack down on content and we had quizzes coming up soon already. Hero studies was this afternoon and Aizawa told me we would be going on a field trip somewhere for today's lesson and getting to meet another faculty member. I had a suspicion we'd be going to the USJ but UA had many off-site facilities that they held trainings at so I could be wrong. He would never tell me everything, worried I'd spoil the surprise for the others. I'm more certain he thinks I'd spoil his fun of scaring them all.

"How's getting to know your classmates? You seem to have taken a liking to Bakugo", he asked me, sucking on an applesauce pouch.

"Uh, yeah, well. He's honest and blunt, like you are. I appreciate that. He has a temper on him though", I replied fiddling with my fingers.

"Yeah, I'll have to do something about that. He reminds me of you when you were thirteen or so", he smirked.

I looked up at him and shot my tongue out, "I had an attitude but I wasn't nearly as angry as he was! Plus, I'm worried for him…"

"I worry for all my students, but I'm more worried about what he might do, either on accident or on purpose, to the rest of the class. What are you worried for?".

I stared down my uncle, disheveled as always. I wanted to tell him about the anxiety I had seen on his face, the pure look of panic as we watched our classmates. That something was wrong. But even I hadn't asked him anything of it, so how could I go around telling others my thoughts on the issue.

"Just that he won't make friends with others in the class", I lied, sipping on my tea.

Aizawa gazed at me, searching my body language. "He has you. And that redhead, Kirishima. Hopefully he'll calm down as the year goes on. His issues with Midoriya though, that'll have to be addressed."

I nodded. I didn't know either of them very well yet, but Izuku just didn't strike me as the type to lie and fool his closest friend like Bakugo had claimed he had. He still used his childhood nickname for him, despite Bakugo's constant insults. The green haired boy obviously cared for him still. None of this made any sense. I'm always so curious as it is, but even though it had only been a few days, I was invested in this to figure out what was going on. And to help Bakugo.

"Are you done? We should head back to the classroom, we'll be starting soon", Aizawa asked, wrapping his scarf back around his shoulders.

"Yeah! And you can finally tell me where we're going".

* * *

Twenty minutes later we were changed into our costumes and Iida was barking at us to get in line by our class numbers to board the bus that was going to take us to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint (called it), where we would be working on rescue training in natural disaster situations. Aizawa had taken me there once when I was ten and I really could start to articulate my feelings about wanting to be hero, that it wasn't just some silly dream of a child, but a real ambition. I got to tag along with his class and watch them do their training, and of course meet Thirteen the space hero. They we're incredibly kind and they fascinated me since their quirk, black hole, was space related like mine was.

The bus was open and had long benches facing each other in the middle, with a few side by side seats in the back. Iida looked solemn as his plan to get us to board hadn't worked. Not that we would have all sat in numerical order anyway. Bakugo had an open seat next to him in the side by side chair which I happily flopped into. I loved the aisle seats on buses and planes the most.

The blonde was staring out the window as the bus pulled away from the school. I could tell he was lost deep in thought so I kept my mouth shut, leaving him be for a while. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through twitter, looking at the newest updates for hero sightings and other various reports. The bus was filled with chatter as those facing each other talked about their quirks.

"The people who are pro material are probably Bakugo and Todoroki", Kirishima said, his arm hardened. "And most likely Hikari. Her quirk is flashy and she knows some pros too".

I could feel Bakugo stiffen next to me and he glared out the window. I turned in my seat to look at the bicolored boy behind me. He was sleeping against the window.

"Yeah, but Bakugo is always so angry, people won't like him much", Asui said aloud to the group.

"Oi, shut the fuck up frog girl", he yelled, jumping up in his seat and leaning over towards them.

"She's right though dude, we just met a few days ago and we already know your personality is like a trash bag set on fire", Kaminari teased at him.

Bakugo turned and spouted off insults at him over my head, many of my other classmates looked annoyed and almost scared of the blonde. I rolled my eyes and leaned into the aisle, stuck under the hot-blooded teen yelling.

"Oh, come on Kaminari, at least he has a personality", I teased back at him.

Mina jumped on with me, and started teasing him too now. He laughed and started arguing with her, both of them already getting along so well.

"Be quiet, we're here", Aizawa shouted over us.

The bus replied with a chorus of 'yes sir's and I turned to look at Bakguo. His jaw clenched tightly, arms crossed.

"I don't need your help", he hissed at me.

"I know, I just wanted him to shut up so you'd stop yelling over me", I shrugged.

The bus came to a stop, and we piled out of the bus quickly. The dome of the USJ was as impressive as ever, the sun glinting off of the glass on the dome. Thirteen, in their usual white suit awaited us at the entrance.

"I'm so glad you're here! Let's go inside", They said, a metallic ringing to the voice coming out from the suit.

The class followed after Thirteen, I could see Ochaco bouncing up and down with joy ahead of me. She chatted eagerly with Midoriya, both expressing their love for the Space Hero. The inside had only grown more impressive in the years since my last visit here. The storm zone had been built and the other zones had many different additions now. I took the whole sight in, the rest of my class astonished at the view.

"It's like an amusement park!", I could hear Kaminari exclaim from in front of me.

"I built this place to help train you all in natural disasters. They could happen anywhere at any time and I want you all to be ready when you encounter them! I call it the 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint'! Or simply the USJ!", Thirteen exclaimed happily in front of us.

"Shouldn't All Might be here already?", Aizawa asked Thirteen, clearly annoyed.

Thirteen stepped closer to my uncle, explaining why the perky hero wasn't here yet probably, but it was unheard by the rest of us. I wondered what could be keeping the famous teacher. Probably the media somehow. I shuddered remembering the commotion of the break in.

"We'll let's get started then, shall we?", Aizawa droned.

"Before we begin, I have a few things to say. As you all know I have a very powerful quirk: Blackhole. It allows me to suck anything up and turn it into dust".

I could see Ochaco nod her head vigorously. "Yeah, you've saved tons of people from disasters with it!", she cheerfully said.

"Yes, but it could also be used just as easily to kill", Thirteen said solemnly.

Ochaco stopped nodding and went stiff, as did most of the rest of the class at the sudden change in mood. Almost anyone of us here could kill another person easily with our powers. I'd melted a slide when I was four. The same blast would have killed, or at least seriously hurt, someone if any of the other kids had been nearby when my quirk appeared.

"I'm sure many of you know that now, having gone through All Might's battle training. If you lose focus, you could lose control of your quirk, and potentially hurt someone. Even if you're just trying to do something like help."

"Today you won't be using your quirk to fight anyone, each other or bad guys. You will be using your quirk only to help save others. That is what being a hero is all about, ensuring the safety of others", Thirteen concluded.

A shiver ran down my spine at their words and I smiled. Thirteen had always been eloquent.

"Thank you for listening!", Thirteen gave us a bow.

I clapped along with the rest of my class, murmuring about how cool Thirteen was.

"Alright, now that that's taken care us, let's get started", Aizawa said pointing behind him to the zones below.

The lights above us flickered and a flash of electricity went through them. Even from the back I could see Aizawa's eyes dart left and right. I could feel the hairs on my arms raise in anticipation and I glanced around too. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but my gut was telling me otherwise. Something felt wrong.

Down the many steps to the central area, where the shipwreck zone met land, the fountain sputtered. And a swirling black and purple mist began to form. I shoved through my classmates to get to the front until I was next to Midoriya. None of them realizing the situation unfolding in front of us, just chatting away with each other. I saw my uncle tense up apprehensively and whip around so he was facing it.

The mist grew larger, floating out across the ground. A hand shot out of it, as if to test the air before it. When it was satisfied, the rest of the arm followed and a man with blue hair stepped through. As the mist grew larger more and more people began to step out of it, all menacing looking and with several physical mutation quirks. I glanced at my uncle, he was already snapping his goggles on.

"Stay together and do not move! Thirteen, protect the students", he barked harshly.

"Wait, but aren't we supposed to be doing rescues?", I heard Kirishima call behind me.

Midoriya took a slight step forward to look but was met with Aizawa shouting at him to get back, one arm thrown out to the side.

"This is real. Those are villians", he said grimly.

There were many gasps from the people behind me. More and more of them seemed to pile out of the mist, obviously some kind of warp quirk. The man with the blue hair still stood in the mist, when next to him a giant of a person emerged. All black with bulging muscles. As soon as it made it all the way through the mist shrunk back, taking an almost person like shape, but towered above even the giant in front of it.

An ethereal voice boomed out of it, "I only see Thirteen and Eraserhead. The schedule we retrieved said that All Might was going to be here".

"You scum used the press as a distraction yesterday, didn't you", Aizawa spat at them.

"Oh, and I went through all the trouble of getting all these friends together", the one with the blue hair wheezed out. "Oh well. Maybe If we kill a few of his precious kiddies he'll find the time to show up".

My hands clenched in fear. They were here to get to the Symbol of Peace himself, perhaps it was good that he had become preoccupied with something else. What was not good was that we were still here, facing this threat now instead. Midoriya trembled next to me, Ochaco looked in shock.

Aizawa pulled on his scarf activating it and flying about his head ready to be used. His hair standing straight up. He stood at the top of the steps, the only thing between us and the threat below.

"Villains? But that can't be right, how did so many get into a secure UA facility?", Kirishima questioned behind me.

"Yes, and the alarms aren't working", Yaoyorozu added.

"They could be attacking here alone, but what about the rest of campus?", Todoroki spoke up. "Since the alarm isn't going off they must have someone who has a quirk that can mask their presence. They chose this time, in an isolated place away from campus to make a move. This can't be random, they must have some goal here."

"If they're jamming the sensors, they might be blocking our communication channels too. Kaminari, try your quirk to get in contact with the main campus. Thirteen get them out of here", Aizawa shot over his shoulder.

"Yes sir!", he exclaimed, looking terrified but put his hand on his ear piece.

"What are you going to do? You can't go down there and fight them all by yourself, that's crazy!", Midoriya exclaimed next to me.

Crazy yes. But exactly his plan.

"Your fighting style is meant for one on one fights and stealth ops, you can't handle a huge group like that, even if you can nullify their quirks!".

"You can't be a pro with only one trick. I'll leave this to you Thirteen", he looked at the space suit clad hero.

"Uncle, please", I started as I stepped forward, Thirteen putting an arm out to stop me.

He looked over his shoulder, goggles obscuring his eyes, looking like a mad man with his weapon flying about him. He shook his head, knowing what the rest of that sentence was.

"Stay safe", he said quietly.

Aizawa leapt straight down the stairs, hands on his weapon, hair waving wildly behind him. I bit my lip hard watching him go like that. He was a pro and knew how to handle himself, but he was at a severe disadvantage in this situation. He landed gracefully and charged straight ahead, three villains already awaiting him. The look of surprise on their faces was clear even from here as he canceled their quirks, and shot his scarves around them, yanking them together with a loud smacking noise.

I turned away, too terrified to watch anymore. This wasn't the time to gawk anyway, I had to get my senses together so we could get out of here and get him back up. The class had all turned and was fleeing to the door we just walked through, I ran to catch up with Bakugo. His face etched into a frown, lower lip trembling just a little.

The door seemed to be impossibly far away as we ran as a pack to it. Up ahead the familiar black mist opened on the floor, the impressive and gigantic form stretching up. We skidded to a stop, I stood with Kirishima and Bakugo on either side, slightly ahead of me.

"Hello, sorry for the intrusion but we just had to come and say hello. We are the League of Villains. We simply found this to be such a fitting place for All Might to take his last breaths", the mist echoed out.

I gasped aloud myself, along with most of the class. They were here, trying to kill All Might? They had to be bluffing.

"He was supposed to be here today and yet I don't see him. I suppose something must have happened that we just couldn't have accounted for. Oh we'll".

It folded what appeared to be arms out, almost wing like in appearance. I saw both Bakugo and Kirishima tense in front of me, legs bending.

"Guys, no!", I shouted.

Both boys sprung forward, past Thirteen, and straight at the mist. Bakugo caused a gigantic explosion, causing smoke to spread obscuring my vision. It settled quickly, both of them still standing unharmed.

"Didn't think we were gunna stand there and let you monologue huh?", Kirishima asked, his arm hard and sharpened.

"Oh yes, you do uphold the school's precious reputation don't you. But you ought to be more careful, someone might get hurt", it boomed back.

"Get back!", Thirteen yelled.

"I'll scatter you across the facility, to meet my comrades, and your demise".

The mist shot out in streams, encircling us all quickly and closing in. I made a mad dash around Thirteen and ran for the boys, I grabbed them both by an arm. I could feel them both jump at the contact. The mist settled over us, darkening everything. I heard the screams of my classmates, but they were becoming quieter, with nothing but silence swallowing us up.

* * *

A light opened up and we fell forward through it, landing in a heap of bodies on the floor. I looked around, we seemed to be in a broken-down building. The windows blown out, glass in pieces. The ceiling was also broken, pipes hanging down.

"Get off me, you fucks", Bakugo shouted.

Kirishima scrambled up first, Bakugo pushing me off after him. I stood and dusted my legs off as the blonde got to his feet.

"Where are we?", Kirishima asked aloud.

"We know the same as you shitty hair, which is nothing", Bakugo barked at him.

"It's probably the collapse zone", I said walking to look out the windows.

"How the hell would you know that", Bakugo sneered at me.

I turned to look at the two boys that had both recklessly jumped to attack the mist man just moments ago.

"Aizawa let me come along with his class a couple years back and watch", I said quietly.

"I'm sure he's going to be fine. He's a pro and the school will find out somethings up and send help soon", Kirishima said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You heard what that mist shit said though? He was sending us to his comrades. There's going to be villains here", Bakugo said waving an arm.

As if on cue footsteps could be heard from down the hall, voices shouting came next. I looked at them both. What great luck we seemed to be having.

"Looks like we get to kick some ass first!", Bakugo grinned.

"No huge ass explosions this time yeah?", I smirked at him and sank into a fighting stance.

"Don't tell me what to do", he spat back at me, hands raised.

"Guys, lets fight them, not each other", Kirishima sighed.

Villains began streaming into the room, my hands coursed with warmth as I jumped at the nearest, catching them off guard. My fist made contact with their face, star expanding out of my hand. They screamed as their flesh burned. I whipped around to throw a kick at the next closest one. They were faster than the last one, catching my leg and using it to throw me.

I hit the wall but rolled back on to my feet ready to blast him, but Bakugo had got there first. His ruby eyes determined as ever, jaw set tight. His explosion had sent the bad guy out the window.

"Shit, they messed up sending these three together", one of them said loudly.

I shot at them with a star blast, it making contact and sending them flying into the corner. The pathway to the door was clear.

"Lets go!", I called and waved at the boys.

I ran through it hearing them close behind me, our feet pounding down the hall. My eyes searched frantically for the stairwell. We rounded a corner and I ran straight into another body.

A hand shot out and dragged me back by hair, the other arm closing across my torso. I felt a knife press into my neck, just enough I could feel it break the skin, blood trickling down. I inhaled sharply as my head was yanked back.

"Stay there or I kill the girl", the villain hissed.

Both boys were frozen, eyes wide. I could feel the adrenaline pounding in my ears, my hands gripping at the arm trapping me. I overcame the initial panic and took a breath. I had spent my whole life training at the gym for situations like this. I took a deep breath and flooded my entire upper body with warmth. My skin began to glow yellow, stars coursing under my skin. I willed them to get hotter and hotter, my entire back lighting up, my skin staring to burn against my captor.

He let go of me with a shriek and I stumbled forward, Kirishima catching me. Bakugo leapt straight for him the second he let go, powered by an explosion and tackled him into the floor.

"Die!", I heard the volatile blonde yell menacingly as he punched the guy unconscious.

"Are you okay?", Kirishima asked softly.

I was shaking all over, my breathing coming in too fast. I gripped both of his arms, trying to ground myself, using him as an anchor.

"I think so", I choked out.

I wiped a hand at my neck, I could feel the small amount of blood smear across my neck and into the mock neck of my costume. I pulled my hand away, red. I could have just died.

I could hear Bakugo stamp back over to us. I let go of Kirishima's arms and stood straight to look at him. His angry eyes bored into me, with something that looked like concern streaking them.

"I'm in front now", He said simply and turned to continue running down the hallway.

* * *

We had fought our way down the building, ending in another room like the one we had been warped to. A few of these so-called villains were knocked out to the floor, either unconscious or in too much pain to get up. Even though there were many of them, and one had tried to slice my neck open, they hadn't been especially powerful. They were at best low level thugs. Something was off.

"I think that's the last of them", Kirishima sighed, panting heavily.

"Good. I'm gunna go find that mist bitch and give him a piece of my mind", Bakugo angrily spat, fiddling with the gauntlet on his arm.

"Dude no, we should go find our classmates. We can't go charging after them", Kirishima insisted.

"If we got sent here, then they're most likely still here somewhere. And if there's this many of these thugs, my uncle needs help. I'm worried that he can't handle this many of them for so long", I breathed out.

My ribs hurt from being hit so many time and my knuckles were already bruising. I wasn't in the best shape but I would be damned if I didn't make sure Aizawa made it out of this in one piece too. I'd buy him all the giant iced coffees he can stomach so long as he isn't injured.

"That smokey bastard is their way in and out, if we get him they can't leave and they'll be stuck here to pay for what they did", Bakugo said, surprisingly calm now.

Ever observant as always.

"Our classmates could be anywhere in here. These are just shitty street thugs, the real bad guys are back in the central plaza. I don't care what you both do, but I'm going back there", he firmly said.

"Look at you, being so calm, it's so weird", Kirishima grinned.

"I'm always calm shitty hair!"

"Ah, there he is."

I rolled my eyes and stretched up, trying to alleviate the cramping in my ribs.

"We need to go you guys, stop arguing".

Bakugo glanced at me frowning, when it turned into a deeper scowl. He shot forward right at me.

I threw my arms up in front of my face, "What the hell are you—".

His arm reached over my shoulder and exploded behind me. I turned and he had another thug's face in his smoking hand, and let him drop to the floor. I looked at the blonde, who was standing a little too close to me.

"That reaction time was insane!", Kirishima exclaimed from in front of us.

"That's the second bad guy you've blown up just for me", I said, almost in awe.

"Don't mention it", he grumbled, trying to sneer at me.

* * *

We finally emerged from the building, high up on a constructed hill. The central plaza lay far below, we were probably in the zone furthest from it. Several villains were lying about in the plaza, they looked incredibly small from where we were all the way up. Aizawa was still jumping around, capture weapon flying with him, knocking anyone he could down to the ground.

"Your uncle is truly amazing! There's hardly anyone left standing", Kirishima said grinning next to me.

The mass of black muscle stood tall and still in the plaza. I could barely make out the other guy standing with them form here, he only stood out because of his pale blue hair.

"I know, but we need to go help in anyway we can. That walking muscle giant is still hanging back", I worriedly flexed my hands.

"That misty asshole is here somewhere too, he'll have to regroup with them", Bakugo agreed.

We began the descent down the hill, the stairs seeming awfully precarious and broken down as well here. We moved slowly and quietly, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves in case those below looked our way. I kept a close eye on the battle below us, watching my uncle fend attack after attack off. He had to be exhausted at this point, his eyes screaming in pain.

It was then that the blue haired one charged at him, breaking away from muscles. Hands raised as ran. My breath caught in my throat and I stopped moving, Kirishima bumping into me. The villain dodged the scarves and actually made contact with Aizawa, gripping one of his arms. They stood still for only a few seconds, but it felt like hours, Aizawa jumping back clutching one of his arms.

I returned to descending the hill, going too fast for the stairs, but I didn't care. He needed help. I caught up with Bakugo, Kirishima right behind me. We were getting close enough now that I could hear the yells of the attacking parties, the smack of Aizawa's blows as they made contact. We finally hit level ground but were still impossibly far away. I lurched forward to run to his side, but Bakguo threw his arm out stopping.

"We should watch and see for now", he hissed, pulling me behind one of the trees. "We need to make a plan before we go running in."

I knew his was right, but I didn't care. The adrenaline from almost dying a few minutes ago and the panic of seeing Aizawa exhausted and injured like this was pushing my senses away.

"I have to go!", I insisted, attempting to pull my arm away.

His grip only tightened.

"Bakugo's right Hikari, we barely know what we're up against here, besides that the mist guy can warp people places. We need to see what's going on", Kirishima whispered at the both of us.

Bakugo released me and we carefully made our way forward, keeping behind trees and low walls. Thirteen sure had designed the place to look like a city in between the zones and it gave us cover. I focused on trying to calm my breathing and stop the panic from heating my body. I couldn't waste any amount of energy right now.

The three of us came to a stop about 100 feet away from the plaza still well hidden. We crouched behind a group of bushes. Kirishima and Bakugo both glanced up over our cover to look into the plaza. I gripped my hands tightly into fists. I was terrified of this whole situation, but I had to be helpful.

It was then that there was a sickening crunch in the air, and a low shriek of pain following it. I rose quickly sticking my head out from behind the bushes. The mass of black muscles was throwing punches into the ground, we were slightly downhill now and I couldn't see.

I leapt over our cover to get a closer look, only to stop short in horror. Underneath the now still giant was Aizawa, groaning in pain. Blood pooling around them. My hands flew to my mouth as the brain creature crushed one of Aizawa's arms with just it's hands.

"Shouta?", I whispered.

The scream never made it past my lips as a hand clamped down over my mouth, the other grabbing my shoulder and dragging me backwards. My face was too hot, tears spilling out of eyes and over the hand clamped over my jaw. I felt another set of hands help me down as my knees gave out. It had to be the boys but my vision was blurry.

"Dude we have to go help him!".

"No shit Sherlock! But we can't leave her here like this!".

My head spun, the image of Aizawa trapped beneath that _thing_ , blood pooling out from everywhere, his arms bent at wrong angles. He could be dead. My uncle could be dead and I was here becoming a useless mess. My hand flew to my face, hurriedly wiping the tears away in my panic, trying to regain my vision. My eyes focused onto the blonde before me, his hand still clamped tight on my face. I pushed it away.

"I'm going with you both", I said shakily, sounding like a child.

Kirishima and Bakugo glanced at each other skeptically for a moment. Two sets of red eyes stared me down. I could tell they were doubtful that I could do anything but get in the way at his point. But the blonde nodded.

"Let's go get him out of there Star-eyes".

It was at that moment that a thunderous crashing noise came from the direction of the front entrance, followed by a huge shockwave. We whipped around to face it, smoke clearing away. Stepping through the doors was none other than our heroes studies teacher, All Might himself.

I choked back another sob, my hands still hurriedly wiping away hot tears as he walked to the front of the steps. Everything was going to be fine now. We had luckily not been spotted, Bakugo yanking me back before I could make a scene, so we watched the villains begin to panic.

The misty warp guy had reappeared to the plaza and muscles backed off of Aizawa returning to the blue haired man. From here I could now see that he had several hands attached to his body, one obscuring his face. In the water was Midoriya, Asui, and Mineta, all looking terrified and relieved.

In the blink of an eye All Might was there, grabbing my injured uncle and my three classmates. They picked him up and started heading for the entrance as All Might charged the enemies. I glanced at Bakugo and Kirishima, my face still hot with tears.

"I'm going with them", I said firmly.

"Do you need us to come with you?", Kirishima asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head. "No, go get that smokey asshole, okay?".

Kirishima nodded and Bakugo gave me an almost sadistic looking smirk.

"I'll get him this time. Go get Aizawa-sensei", Bakugo firmly said.

I nodded and turned, running low to keep out of sight. I was circling around the plaza trying to catch up with the others carrying him. When I was far enough away from the fray I stood up fully and launched myself forward to get onto the path they were on, startling the three of them.

"A-ah, Hikari!", Midoriya sputtered out.

Aizawa was slack over the boy's shoulders, passed out from blood loss. Both arms dangled at broken angles, his face hung down obscuring any amount of damage that he had taken. I calmed my breathing, willing myself to stay calm at the sight of him.

"Let me help you", I said quietly.

Midoriya shifted his weight so he had half of him over one shoulder. I pressed mine against him, helping to support him. Asui and Mineta held his legs and feet. Once I was situated we started forward, heading for the stairs to get him away and to the help that was soon to arrive.

I could feel Midoriya's anxiety rolling off of him in waves, only exacerbating my own. He kept glancing back to look at All Might. The third time he did so, his breath hitched and he stopped walking.

"We need to keep going", I hissed at him, annoyed.

Did he not understand that his teacher, my uncle, could be dying on our backs right now because of the injuries he sustained?

"Tsu, come take him", he said to the frog girl behind us.

She hurriedly took his place, much shorter than he was I had to compensate and hold more of him now.

"Where are you going?", Asui croaked at him.

But he was already running straight for All Might, who had gotten stuck in the creature's hands. My eyes widened in surprise, both at the hero captured before me and the small boy running to him. I could see the energy building in his body, getting ready to punch something. I snapped my head back around.

"We have to go", I barked out harshly.

The girl next to me startled, eyes wide. She met my gaze and she looked at me with sympathy. We continued forward, nearing the stairs. We heard a shout from above.

"Hikari! Tsu!", Ochaco called, waving from the top of the steps.

"Come help us!", I yelled up to her, my voice full of pain.

She bounded down the stairs, eyes wide as she realized who we had over us. She quickly touched him with her hand and he became weightless. I shifted his torso over to Tsu. I put one hand on his chest and one on his back to steady him. Mineta simply trailed behind, tears in his eyes, he was too short to be helpful.

We ran up the stairs as quickly as we could, reaching the top where a few of our other classmates stood, Mina crouched over the wrecked space suit of Thirteen. Shoji and Sero moved forward to meet us.

"Help me get him on his back", I said quickly.

Tsu and I turned him over, gently lowering him to the ground with Ochaco's quirk. She released him and his body fell slack, head rolling to the side. His face was covered in blood, a giant gash still oozing under his right eye. I bite the inside of my cheek hard as my classmates gasped.

"Is he..?", Mneta questioned quietly.

"Of course not!", I snapped.

Aizawa's chest moved up and down, but only just. His breathing was shallow. I turned to purple idiot, my fingers lighting up.

"I need this", I said angrily.

I singed his cape off at the neck and he yelped at the sudden heat so close to his body.

"My cape", he whimpered quietly.

I glared at him, heat flooding my face, the skin surely beginning to glow underneath, my anger at his stupidity overrode almost anything else.

"When it's your family bleeding out all over the floor then you can have my entire hero costume to bandage them up", I snapped, my voice coming out low.

His hands shot over his mouth and I turned back to Aizawa, kneeling next to him. I began ripping the fabric into long sections, my classmates quiet around me. I could feel hot tears building in my eyes again, and I angrily blinked them away. He was going to be fine.

I brushed his hair away from his face, it was swollen and already beginning to bruise. I wouldn't be surprised if he had fractures in his cheeks. The gash under his eye was oozing still. I balled a strip up and put it to it. The yellow fabric greedily soaked in the blood, turning red.

Ochaco looked like she might hurl from the sight so I glanced to Sero, his face set in a grim frown.

"Can you put pressure here?"

His eyes widened for a moment but then he nodded, coming over to kneel on his other side and put his hand over it.

"You have to press harder than you'll want to, we have to get the bleeding to stop", I said quietly to him.

Sero did as I had instructed, Aizawa groaning out in pain even though he was unconscious. I quickly began looking over the rest of him, tying pieces of the once cape around other gashes he had sustained. I took special care with his elbow, it had been destroyed entirely. The sleeve oh his costume and skin were just _gone_ , leaving the muscle poking out. I carefully and loosely wrapped it, just to keep it covered.

Surely with All Might here the rest of the pros could not be far behind. I reached back up to Aizawa's face, taking over holding the bloodied cloth down from Sero. You'd never have known it was once yellow, the whole thing soaked through in red.

"Thank you", I said quietly.

"Of course", He mumbled.

I looked up, his eyes full of sympathy and pain. He might be my family but he was also everyone's teacher. This would be traumatic for everyone involved, especially those who witnessed him in this state. My face felt hot again, tears coming to my eyes. A sob escaped my lips. I could hear the fight going on down below, but I paid no mind to it. I had every faith that All Might would kick their asses. We just needed the other teachers to arrive, and paramedics to take Aizawa to the hospital for more proficient medical assistance than I could give.

I felt a hand gently place itself on my back, slowly rubbing circles across my shoulders. I looked back to find Tsu behind me, her big eyes reassuring and calm. I leaned forward over Aizawa, my head almost resting on his shoulder. I whispered to him, willing him to stay with me for a little longer, just until help could arrive. Hot tears poured down my face, falling onto his clothing.

It was then that I heard more footsteps behind us, and gun shots rang through the stadium. It had to be Snipe at the speed that they shot off. I didn't bother moving, hearing the others sigh in relief, followed by the principal's voice. One hand clutched at the cloth on his face, blood still oozing through and coating my hand, the other grasping at my chest, hand wiping Aizawa's blood over my costume.

I didn't move until I heard small steps come and stop next to me. I sat up, my face a mess of sweat, tears, and blood, and found the Principal standing next to me at eye level. He looked incredibly sad as he looked me over and then the unconscious teacher next to me. He reached a paw out, gently wiping a tear away and left it there, cupping my cheek. I heard the sirens approaching outside.

"He's going to be alright now. I am so sorry I allowed this to happen", the Principal consoling me.

I nodded at him, eyes still wet. Men rolling a stretcher entered the door behind us, police streaming in after them. The immediately came over to us, the Principal trying to usher me away to let them through. I stood and caught the closest one's arm and he looked at me in surprise.

"Take good care of him", I managed to get out.

He looked at me, giving me a curt nod. "We will".

Tsu and Ochaco pulled me away from them as they knelt over his still body. He was going to make it. Another pair had rushed to Thirteen, getting them onto the stretcher. Mina joined us as we were lead outside by Midnight, along with the others here with us. There were an overwhelmingly large amount of emergency vehicles with lights flashing outside the USJ. I broke away from the three girls and collapsed onto ground, my legs crossed, hands clenched in my lap.

I barely registered as someone put a blanket over my shoulders, and I brushed off anyone trying to talk to me, including the paramedics insisting that my neck had stopped bleeding a while ago and explained that the blood all over my hands was not my own. I sat staring straight ahead, the multitude of lights and cars making little impact on me. The sky was changing colors as the sun was starting to descend.

I jumped when someone sat next to me on my left, knocking shoulders with me as they did. I looked at them and found it to be Bakugo, his ruby eyes searching mine. His face was stoic, mouth set in a small frown. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.. He nodded at me understanding and turned to stare straight ahead like I had been a moment ago.

I watched as the ambulances pulled away, rushing the two heroes who risked their lives to help keep us safe. Aizawa was a strong-willed man, I knew he was going to pull through. But the images of that monster on top of him, attempting to pound the life out of him, blood everywhere, cycled through my head. Over and over. This was the true evil that pros faced. That I wanted to face, to keep people safe. I never thought it'd be so soon.

Bakguo carefully rested his hand atop my clenched fist, despite the fact that it was covered in dried blood from our teacher. I relaxed my hand, releasing the tight fist, and he slowly clasped his hand around mine. I pulled the blanket tighter over my shoulders, and relished in the warmth that Bakugo provided. He helped save my life today, and I would never forget that.

* * *

 _ **Miles away, in a high security prison…**_

 _A man stirred inside his cell, standing up from the small and hard bed inside. His gut told him something had happened and more was yet to come. Two guards walked past, talking loudly, not caring what ears overheard their conversation._

 _"Can you believe they attacked U.A.? At the USJ too, it's just crazy. It's good All Might was able to stop it", one said._

 _"No kidding. And they captured that crazy looking creature, I bet they'll be sending him here soon", the other replied._

 _Their voices died down as the got further away. The man walked to the edge of the cell, looking through the bars. He raised his hands and gripped two of them, quirk blocking bands on both of his wrists, locked up nice and tight._

 _Movement stirred in the cell across from his, and a woman walked to the edge of her own confinement, also pressing her hands against the bars. Their eyes made contact, dark brown finding blue. They both nodded to each other. This plan had been in the works for months, but now was finally the time._

 _The woman moved back from the bars, slipping her hand under the mattress. Her hand emerged holding the key that she had swiped from a guard a while ago. She unlocked one band and then the next, then the ones on each of her ankles. She rubbed her wrists for a moment, and smiled at the man across from her. He returned her grin eagerly._

 _The woman stretched for a second, and then melted into the shadows, slipping through her bars with ease, trailing across the floor of the hallway, and squeezed into the man's cell. She drew herself back up to a physical form, quickly unlocking the man's bands. They dropped to the floor as well as they key._

 _The embraced quickly, the man stroking her long white hair._

 _"It sounds like our associates are hard at work again. Seems like they're having some trouble without us though", he said as they pulled away._

 _"Clearly since something of theirs was caught. Too bad. I've never been to fond of Shigaraki though", she mused._

 _The man chuckled and turned to face the back wall, her hand in his. He let go and placed his hands against the brick. His entire body caught fire and he threw his flames against the wall with force, shattering through reinforced steel and brick._

 _Fresh air filtered through, the night sky opening up to them. An alarm started to aggressively blare throughout the whole facility and they heard shouting down the hall way. The man extinguished his fire and took back the woman's hands._

 _"Let's go teach them how scientists really do things", he laughed._

 _"And go find our daughter", she nodded._

 _The gripped each other's hands harder and jumped through the opening into the wall, disappearing into the darkness._

* * *

 **A/N: Did you make it? All kinds of crazy stuff happened. Writing this was crazy but I've enjoyed this a lot. It's become very therapeutic and a new kind of self care for me. Until next time!**

 **~ Vic**


	6. Don't Be So Stubborn

**A/N: Holy hell I am so sorry this took so long! I've been super depressed as of late and other than work I haven't done much but just lay in bed doing nothing. Thank you all so much for the reviews and encouragement to continue this story. It's become something very dear to me and I really do want to see it through. I've been thinking about events in the third season and how Hikari will do there, but I have to keep reminding myself we have to get there first.**

 **I got a lot of comments that Bakugo let Hikari in a little too early. I do agree that it is a little OOC and he's a little fluffier than normal but I really wanted him to be more involved with Hikari for the USJ attack since Aizawa almost dies and what not.**

 **Anyways, I had to fight with this chapter but here it is! I will do my best to update sooner!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks, it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

Six: Don't Be So Stubborn

* * *

We had been given the day off following the attack on the USJ to give us some time to recuperate before returning to our busy classes. It was all over the news what had happened and the school was coming under fire for letting students get attacked like this. As if they knew villains would warp in like that. We received praise from all of our teachers for handling the situation well and how relieved they all were that we had all been relatively unharmed besides Midoriya's broken fingers and injured legs the next biggest injury was the cut on my neck, only three inches in length and Recovery Girl healed it easily. Nothing but a pale scar in the middle of my neck as a reminder of the near-death experience.

I rubbed at the spot on my neck apprehensively remembering the cool metal pressing into it and I shivered. We were all incredibly lucky considering what had happened.

Aizawa, despite being incredibly beaten, was also lucky. They expected him to make a full recovery from his injuries. Both of his arms were broken, he had cuts and gashes head to toe, the one giant one on his cheek, and fractures throughout his face and skull. They didn't know if his eye sight would be impaired at all until he recovered.

I had spent most of the night in the hospital with him, both my fathers too as they were worried out of their minds about me and him, only leaving when they insisted we go home to sleep. He had been unconscious most of the time anyway, the nurse coming by to keep up on all the pain medications he was on.

I had barely slept when we got home and after my fitful slumber I awoke with a new resolution. I would become stronger to keep those I loved safe, and to not let this kind of thing happen to anyone else.

With that in mind I had told Toshio that I would be going with to train at the gym for most of the day with him, and see some of the new kids of course. He was hesitant at first, insisting I stay home and rest but physically I felt fine. The images of yesterday had plagued my sleep and I wanted to keep my mind of it. Kazuo had taken the day off to work from home to be with me and so he tagged along, setting up shop on the bleachers near the entrance, laptop and headphones in hand to work on a final mix for some artist.

Toshio's gym was beautiful and well rounded, offering traditional American style boxing, MMA, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and basic self defense classes. He always ran a short kids camp over the summer and winter breaks from school too, those were some of my favorite to help with. The whole floor was covered in different kinds of mats, with a spacious floor area for practicing drills the one wall entirely lined with mirrors to check your own form, a boxing ring in one corner and an MMA ring in the other. There were changing rooms with lockers for use, those who had been long time students kept rented ones but there were open ones for those doing drop in classes.

I changed there, wearing a black sports bra and athletic shorts. I pulled my hair into a pony tail atop my head, running my hand over the short undercut. Wrapping both my hands meticulously I set up a punching bag on one side of the floor. I jogged a couple laps around the floor, the serious students starting to trickle in a little after eight am. Many of them were college age students trying to make it into the serious competitive scene and I'd grown up with most of them.

"Good morning Hi-chan!", Yuki called from the front.

"Morning!", I called through my jog.

He set his bag down to the side and joined me the next time I passed by his corner. We made it a full lap before he said anything again.

"I saw the news this morning. We're you there?", he asked glancing sideways at me.

I slowed and came to a stop, walking towards to the middle of the floor and plopping down to stretch. He sat with me despite not having run enough to warm up.

"Yeah, I was there. They closed the school today, probably to deal with the media backlash from it all, having so many villains get past their security is a big deal".

"No kidding, they're one of the biggest hero schools in the country, they shouldn't have let that happen", he said leaning back on his arms. "I'm glad you're okay".

I reached over to my left foot, stretching past my pointed toes. "Me too".

"Yuki, let's get started! And you better not be bothering my daughter", my dad called from the boxing ring, teasing him.

Yuki shot to his feet, "Of course not sensei! We'll talk more later, kay?".

He sped off to grab his bag and headed to the locker room. I sighed and stretched forward to the floor, stomach nearly touching. I had always been decently flexible but I always made sure to stretch often to keep it.

After a few more stretches I walked over to the bag, placing a hand on it. It was familiar, I had been training with these since I was five, barely making an impact and purely being fun. Now it was to help get stronger. I put my Bluetooth headphones over my ears and pulled my phone out of my pocket, hitting shuffle on my playlist. I tossed my phone gently to the side and started with some drills.

I moved around the bag, imagining it as the enemy. Throwing punches, left, right. I grabbed with my left hand and kneed it with my right leg. I bounced on my feet, sending jabs at it causing the bag to shudder under the impact. I focused on keeping my breathing even, exhaling hard into a hiss as I made contact with the bag as I had been trained to.

" _This helps to increase strike power and ensures that you will not tire as easily", Aizawa instructed, throwing a strike at the bag, knocking it over_

" _Woah! You're so cool!", I jumped up and down grinning._

 _He flashed a smile at me, "No way, you're much cooler Hi-chan."_

" _Teach me! Teach me!", I threw my small fists haphazardly into the air._

" _Doesn't look like I have too, but c'mere. Don't tuck your thumbs in like that, you'll get hurt"._

The memory of watching him train when I was five spurred me on to go faster. Aizawa had been one of my fathers student's for long time, before they had adopted me, that's how he started training in hand to hand so he could become a hero with a mental quirk. He had just made his solo debut, albeit a more underground one, a year or so after I had manifested my quirk. He had been gaining experience as a sidekick but improved impossibly fast, his quirk and skill set allowing him to handle operations that many others couldn't. He saved so many lives, all while barely receiving the credit for it.

And he had saved all of our lives, nearly losing his own. My breathing was getting more sporadic as I threw kicks at the bag, getting emotional over yesterday. I was getting louder in my exhales, turning from a low hiss to short yells.

I lunged forward to throw another punch, my hand barely had made contact though as I felt my headphones yanked from my head. I planted my right foot and spun on it, throwing a high sidekick, my leg being stopped by Yuki's arm. He held my headphones in his other hand.

"Easy there tiger, I just wanted to come see if you wanted to spar", he smirked, pushing my leg away from him.

I rolled my eyes, and reached for my headphones, he easily kept them out of my reach. Yuki was probably six inches taller than I was.

"Didn't know you wanted to get your ass kicked so early this morning", I snorted as I jumped reaching for his hand.

"Hey, I remember the last time we sparred it was a draw".

"Not how I remember it. Now give me that, you know I'll climb you for it".

Yuki only laughed and held them away further, pushing at me with his other hand. I gripped his shoulder and jumped, pushing myself up higher with the boost. I pushed my feet into his hips and grabbed at his hand, finally taking them back.

"God, did you get taller since I've been here last? You've gotta stop growing", I sighed as I jumped off of him.

"Worried you won't be able to keep up Hi-chan", Yuki teased, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes.

"You know size doesn't matter", I grinned, "I've been rolling with the bigger kids since I started here".

"Yeah, yeah, I know".

Yuki looked at me apprehensively, a small smile on his face. He had also been with us at the gym for a long while, I considered him the older brother I didn't have. Or want sometimes.

"Come on, let's go roll. You're Toshio-sensei has been bragging about you since you've started school in the hero program so come show off some moves", Yuki whined, pulling on my arm.

"Fine, you better not cry when I kick your ass", I smirked.

He went red, "You know I haven't done that in years!"

"Whatever you say Yu-yu", I cooed, running to get my dad to ref the match.

* * *

I wanted curry udon noodles for dinner, the perfect combination of curry and noodles in my opinion, and convinced Kazuo to let us have it. I volunteered to go to the grocery store to pick up fresh vegetables and shichimi for a little extra spice.

After spending most of the morning at the gym, and of course kicking Yuki's butt in our Jiu-Jitsu match, I headed back home with Kazuo to shower and change before catching the train into town to go to one of the nicer markets, they have the best produce in I swear.

I grabbed a basket at the front entrance and just let myself wander aimlessly. I wanted to be the one to come do this both so that we could have this dish tonight but to also get a little more time outside of the house, alone. I was still coming to terms with what happened yesterday, and wanted this little bit to myself before going to bed and resuming school like normal.

I was scrolling through twitter, the attack from yesterday still trending as well some other petty crimes that had happened today. I looked at all the tweets, some crying for the school to be shut down (which was always being said anyway) and that the teachers were irresponsible, but many others commended the teachers there and had words of encouragement for the students.

I smiled at the last post I had read, only to run into the back of someone.

"What the hell!"

I stepped back bowing, "I am so sorry I wasn't looking where I was goin—"

"Star-eyes?"

I looked up to an annoyed Bakugo looking at me, holding onto a cart full of food.

"What are you doing here?", I asked confused.

"Getting food for dinner you dipshit. And getting run into by you", he shot at me.

"Yeah sorry, I was looking through twitter at the news. The attack on the USJ is trending" I replied looking down at my shoes.

"Yeah? Well who cares what anyone else thinks about it", the blonde grumbled.

My hand flew up to my neck, a finger resting on the small scar. "You're right"

"Course I am", he said simply.

We stared at each other, just standing there in the aisle of this grocery store. His ruby eyes narrowed and looked down at my neck.

"That's from that guys knife", Bakugo stated bluntly, nodding towards me.

"Yeah, Recovery Girl healed it easy, I just hate that I have this noticeable scar on my neck now", I shrugged.

It was an uncomfortable reminder of what had happened, what could happen again. Scratch that, would happen again, though hopefully not for a long while.

"Well, I think it looks badass. Means you survived", he grinned.

I gave him a small smile back.

"Thanks, guess we can't all be badass looking right away like you and your ugly mug"

He glowered at me, "Oh forget it back n' white!"

"Oi brat! Who are you yelling at?"

Bakugo groaned as a woman with his same blonde, spiky hair rounded the corner of the aisle and approached us. She looked beautiful in a youthful way, and very similar to the explosive boy in front of me.

"No one you damn hag!"

"Don't yell at your mother in public, shithead!", she yelled just as loud back at him.

I can see where he got his vocal personality then.

Her red eyes looked over his shoulder to look at me, identical to her sons. She gave me a soft smile.

"I'm so sorry miss, is my beast of a son bothering you?", she said sweetly.

"I've literally done nothing wrong damn it", Bakugo barked at her.

Her eyes glared him down as she snorted, "I don't believe that for a second".

I stepped forward nervously, "No ma'am, he really hasn't! I just ran into him, I was looking at my phone and not watching where I was going. Completely my fault"

"I told you! Star-eyes is just an idiot who doesn't know how to watch where she's going"

"Don't insult strangers Katsuki!"

"She ain't no stranger hag!"

They both turned to look at me, twin pairs of crimson eyes boring into me. I fiddled with the basket, feeling the aggression rolling between the two.

"Ah, yes! We go to school together, we're in the same class. I'm Arai Hikari, it's nice to meet you Bakugo-san"

I bowed to the terrifying blonde women, but she smiled at me again, less sickly sweet and more natural looking on her soft features.

"Please call me Mitsuki. It's a pleasure to meet one of sons classmates, he hasn't said anything about making friends at all", she replied, shooting him a look at the end.

"Who needs friends", Bakugo shrugged, putting his arms behind his head.

"You do, even if you are a little dumbass", Mitsuki said to him.

"Don't tell me what I need!"

I gave a small and awkward laugh at seeing their exchange.

"It was nice to meet you, but I really do need to get these groceries and get home to my dads, they'll be hungry soon", I said, trying to get away for this insanity.

"Oh, of course! Get home safely, and give my kid some trouble tomorrow, yeah?", Mitsuki grinned, pulling him into a very forced side hug.

Bakugo pushed her away, a scowl on his face.

"Thank you, have a good night. See you in class, Bakugo", I gave a wave.

"Whatever Star-eyes", he rolled his eyes.

I quickly made my way past them both, making a beeline for the produce section, their loud voices carrying over the rest of the noise in the store even as I got further away. I sighed and stopped in front some veggies, looking for the carrots.

Bakugo seemed so unbothered by the attack yesterday, I have no idea how. Maybe I was just being a baby about the whole situation and needed to shrug it off already. Everyone was going to be fine after all, that's all that really mattered. Even Aizawa and Thirteen would make a full recovery.

I smiled determinedly. I survived yesterday, I was going to get stronger and become a hero. No matter what happened.

* * *

"I know you're the king of being stubborn, but isn't this a bit much?", I asked, holding a stack of books.

"It wouldn't be logical to have someone sub for me, I need to be here to teach you all. Important stuff is coming up", Aizawa answered, though it came out muffled through all the bandages on his face.

"Whatever it is surely Yamada-Sensei could have taken over? At least for today", I sighed.

"No."

I groaned. My uncle had checked himself out against medical advice, and was here to teach. He had sent me a text telling me to come to the faculty room before class and to be early. I was incredibly surprised to find him sitting at his desk, face covered in bandages, and both arms in slings. He couldn't carry his own books to homeroom and insisted I help him. I insisted he go home and rest, or at least see recovery girl. But he reminded me he had to take some time to heal by himself, Recovery Girl couldn't fix severe stuff like this in one go. It'd kill him.

So here we were, trekking down the hall, me holding his stuff, and him looking like he was about to keel over into his grave.

"You're too stubborn for your own good you know", I exasperatedly stated.

"Heh, you're one to talk."

"I learned it from you!"

We rounded the corner and approached the class 1-A door, I gave him an apprehensive look he could barely see, due to all the bandaging, and he nodded. I slid the door open.

"Oh, Hikari there you are!", Ochaco called cheerfully.

"You're late Hikari-san!", Iida exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I brought a _really_ good tardy pass", I explained, walking through the door.

"Morning", came Aizawa's muffled voice.

"Aizawa-Sensei what are you doing here!", the entire class yelled.

"That's what I'm saying", I grumbled to myself.

I went and set the stack of books down on the podium, waiting until Aizawa got to it. His gait was slow and his whole body was hunched forward. He seemed pretty lucid which means he probably wasn't taking the pain medication like he should.

"My wellbeing is irrelevant, especially since your fight isn't over yet", he said monotone. "You can sit down now, Hikari"

I nodded and headed to my seat in the back, the tense atmosphere in the classroom from the last comment driving me up a wall.

"The UA sports festival is about to start."

I could hear Kirishima's 'yes' even as the rest of the class yelled about him scaring them. I smiled, they still hadn't figured him out at all yet.

"Lets go kick some ass!", the redhead yelled excitedly.

"Wait a minute", Denki said, reigning in the redhead.

"Is it really a good idea to have the sports festival so soon after the villain attack?", Jirou asked.

"Yeah, couldn't they attack us all if we're in the same place?", Mashiro stated.

"The administration thinks that it is important that we proceed as planned as a show of strength. That the threat has been dealt with and the school is just as strong as ever. They'll have added security this year as well", Aizawa explained. "We can't cancel it just because of a few villains."

"And why not? It's just a sports festival", Mineta cried a few seats in front of me.

I rolled my eyes, "This is one of the most important opportunities for us while we're in school. This event is _the_ most watched sporting event on TV, not just in Japan but the entire world will tune in."

"She's right. Pro heroes and agency's watch to look at the upcoming generation. This is where you get scouted", Yoayorozu added.

"If you wanna go pro one day, this can open the path for you. One chance a year, three chances in a life time. It's not something any aspiring hero can miss. Which means you better not slack off on your training", Aizawa stated.

"Yes sir!"

"Class dismissed"

* * *

Morning classes continued with the intensity only UA could produce. We were already going to have a science quiz and history quiz soon, even with the sports festival coming up. Lunch finally came as a blessing and I sighed and slouched over my desk, resting my forehead against the cool surface.

I'd have to up my physical training again, like before the entrance exam. I had to be in tiptop condition for this festival, this was where I was going to prove myself. Not silly things like becoming class rep. I'm going to win this festival. Though I'm certain people like Bakugo and Kirishima wouldn't make that easy for me.

I could hear my classmates chattering away excitedly about it. Always noisy here, that's for certain.

"Everyone! I'm gunna do my best!", Ochaco yelled, her voice sounding terrifying.

I looked up to see her look as scary as she sounded. Well as scary as the round-faced girl could look. She shouted again as some of our classmates didn't return her enthusiasm. I smiled in her direction. I'd do my best too then.

"Hey Hikari, you okay there?", Kirishima asked.

I sat up and stretched, "Yeah I'm fine, just tired after everything that's going on. And my uncle this morning, he's such a stubborn pain in the ass."

He sat backwards in the seat in front of my desk and gave me a toothy grin.

"More like a badass, I can't believe he's already back to teach!"

I bent over to pull my packed lunch out of my bag and set it on my desk.

"He's definitely something. My dads were really worried about him, once they saw I was totally fine. We spent most of the night after the incident in his hospital room."

I opened and began unpacking all my food, left over curry udon from last night, rice, and some sliced apples. I loved fruit.

"I know you said he isn't your uncle by blood, how does your family know him?", Kiri asked, ruby eyes looking at me curiously.

I took a bite of an apple, "Don't you need to eat though?".

"Oh, right! Hold on!"

Kiri ran back over to his own desk and pulled out his own lunch and quickly returned to my desk, setting his own lunch next to mine.

"Well go on! I wanna hear all about Aizawa-sensei", he urged.

"Okay, okay! So, they met almost right before I was born. Aizawa-sensei started training at my dad Toshio's gym to learn hand to hand combat since he has a mental quirk. He'd been there since he was fifteen. My dads adopted me about halfway into his first year here. Kazuo stayed home with me a lot when I was little, but as I got bigger they would bring me to the gym. I attached myself to Aizawa-sensei pretty early on. I idolized him when I was little. I still do look up to him now, he's why I wanted to be a hero, he was such an wonderful example for me as I grew up."

I glanced back at Kirishima, his eyes nearly sparkling.

"That's so cool! Especially since your dads adopted you? Is one of them your bio dad? If you don't mind me asking", he trailed off at the end.

I smiled at him, "No it's alright. No, neither of them are my bio dad. I haven't met either of my birthparents. We don't have any information on them, and it's hard asking them to help me look for info. I don't want them to think that they aren't being good parents."

Kirishima smiled back at me and took a bite of his rice. Adoption was a much more common thing now a days, but it was still strange to some, especially in cases like mine when it was a completely closed adoption. It felt right to tell Kiri about it though.

"Oh! I also ran into Bakugo and his mom at the store last night", I whispered to the shark tooth teen.

"Really? Oh man, what was she like?"

"Bakugo absolutely got his attitude from her for _sure_. She was terrifying, but smiled at me. They also look super similar!"

"That old hag and I do not look similar", Bakugo sneered.

Kirishima and I both jumped, the volatile blonde standing behind Kirishima, holding an iced coffee from the shop downstairs. I gaped at him.

"How long have you been there?", I asked incredulously.

He smirked, "Long enough. Just ask your damn dads about your birth parents, don't be such a baby. And stop talking about me and my mom!"

I looked at Kirishima and pointed to the blonde.

"They even yell the same"

"Oi shut the fuck up, we do not!"

Kiri and I just burst into a fit of giggles as he glowered at us both, taking a long sip on his iced coffee.

"I'm gunna wreck you both at the sports festival for sure now!", he yelled at us, though there was a grin on his face.

"No way dude!", Kirishima replied excitedly, starting to argue away with the blonde.

I smiled and watched them both, maybe we were becoming friends after all. It felt comforting to be with the two people I fought villains with only 48 hours ago. It made me feel safe.

* * *

 **A/N: Did you make it? Sorry it isn't as long as the last few chapters, it just felt like a good place to stop and I really wanted to get this up for you guys. I have a bunch planned for the Sports Festival so it'll probably be broken up into a couple chapters. I promise they'll get her sooner this time.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and until next time!**

 **~ Vic**


	7. Racing To My Future

**A/N: Oh boy this one was a doozy to write and took longer than expected thanks to work. I'm not sure how I feel about the obstacle course race, I don't think I write action scenes well and there was a LOT during the race. I might go back in and polish it up some later, not changing much really. I'm excited that we're getting to this point because stuff about Hikari's parents are finally starting to progress forward. I just wanna get it all out there already!**

 **Thank you all again for reading, and thank you to those of you who left reviews. It makes my heart so warm. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks, it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

 **Seven: Racing To My Future**

* * *

The UA Sports festival was nearing closer and closer but that hadn't stopped the hero course from planning quizzes and projects for its classes. I knew with people like Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Midoriya I'd have a hard time being number one in the class with grades, but I was fine settling into the top eight or so as long as I could stand out physically, and the sports festival was where I planned to prove myself. I had two weeks to improve on where I was now. I had planned on asking Aizawa to help train me, and even fighting him, but since he was still recovering he had even less energy than before.

The final bell had rung a few minutes ago and I was finishing packing up my things, planning on heading to the faculty office to help my uncle home. My dads and Yamada-sensei had planned to switch off having Aizawa over for dinner until his arms had healed enough for him to really move them again, which was going to be a while still.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard several loud exclamations loudly from the door to our classroom. Looking up I found easily thirty or so people cramming against one another, craning their necks over one another to see into the room. How lovely.

"They're here to scope out to competition and see the class that survived a villain attack", Bakugo said, voice unwaveringly calm for him.

I stood with my bag and quickly joined where most of my classmates stood. Knowing Bakugo someone would end up pissing him off and screaming match would follow. He stepped closer to the entrance, the kids in front taking a step back. I'm sure he was glaring them all down.

"At least now you can see what a future pro looks like. Now move it extras!"

Iida and Ochaco jumped at his words, Midoriya looked like a nervous wreck.

"You can't call people extras just because you don't know them!", The class rep exclaimed, his arms waving wildly.

"So this is class 1-A? The news made you all out to be something special, but you just seem to be self-absorbed to me", a monotonous voice droned over the crowd.

A tall boy with purple hair that matched Kirisimha's in its unruliness pushed his way through to the front. He stood a few inches taller than Bakugo did, his irises the same striking shade as the unruly mop on his head, with bags to only rival my uncle etched under them.

"I wanted to be in the hero course too, but I didn't make it through the first round. But I have a second chance. Teachers can transfer in students they deem fit if they perform well in the sports festival. That means some of you would have to be transferred out", he hummed, voice dry.

Several gasps came from my classmates who were unaware of this fact. This school was tough, just because you were in didn't mean you could get complacent. You had to prove yourself and showcase your improvement as time went on.

"So, you better look out. If you don't bring your absolute best, I will take your spot from you. Consider this a declaration of war 1-A"

Iida facepalmed and Midoriya looked like he might faint. Ochaco glanced at me nervously, I simply nodded in response to her.

"Hey, that goes for me too!", a brash voice yelled from outside the door.

A boy with gray hair and angry eyes was trying to push through the crowd that had grown in the hall, to no avail.

"I'm from 1-B next door! You guys think you're so much better than us but you're really just a bunch of brats! I'm going to beat you all at the sports festival!"

"Why does everyone hate us now?", Midoriya and Ochaco groaned in unison.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Cuz competition is a bitch"

Bakugo continued walking out the door quietly, the crowd stepping back from him, a mix of fear and awe on their faces. The loud mouth from 1-B yelling louder since he was being ignored.

"Dude, don't just leave like that! It's your fault they hate us all now!", Kirishima whined, rushing forward.

"These people don't matter. The only thing that matters is that I beat them", Bakugo replied matter-of-factly over his shoulder.

Bakugo disappeared through the crowd without another word, the sleep deprived boy looking almost bored at his departure from the chaos that he had enticed.

"I'm so mad that that was such a manly exit", Kirishima cried wistfully.

"It was", Sato agreed.

"He certainly has a point", Tokoyami hummed.

"Well yeah but now this suck, everyone hates us!", Kaminari cried.

Todoroki quietly slipped out the door next, I followed close behind, stopping to look the one who had threatened to take our spots from us.

"We're certainly not all assholes, but he isn't the only one to be worried about here", I said firmly.

His eyes were haunting up close like this, irises a vibrant violet, but his pupils were stark white, dark rings making them appear almost dead. I could feel a shiver go down my spine, something was different about him. The corner of his mouth twitched into a slight smirk.

"See you there"

I held his gaze a moment longer and then brushed past the people near the door. I knew this would be challenging but I didn't expect everyone to be so bold like this. I guess the USJ incident had caused a larger stir through the population than I thought.

* * *

"S'not like we _asked_ to be on national television cuz a UA facility got attacked by villains", I grumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Hikari, chew first, talk second", Kazuo scolded.

I swallowed in a large gulp, "I mean, I know that anyone can be transferred in or out by teacher discretion, but there's something strange about this purple haired guy that came to poke at us today"

"Yes, but it did happen, so now you just have to deal with the attention and jealousy that will come from other students since you were in the spotlight of something so dramatic", Aizawa droned rolling his eyes.

I had helped him unwrap the bandages from his face to eat, the gauze still taped to his face. His face was still incredibly swollen, both eyes practically forced shut. I knew he'd be rolling them at me if I could.

"We'll start a new weight lifting routine to get some more muscle on you before the festival!", Toshio exclaimed excitedly, "I know my baby girl is going to go far with this! Even if you don't come in first place this year, you've gotta show off your quirk and how you can use it!"

I smiled wide at my dads and uncle.

"I know, but the attention like that makes me nervous. I don't like to be in the spotlight like that. The media sucks so much sometimes. I want to stay out of it like Oji-san", I replied brightly.

Aizawa's face twitched in what must have been an attempt at a smile but he groaned at the pain a moment after.

"I know Hikari, but you need to start thinking about your quirk and abilities more logically. You have a flashy quirk that the public will love, and it's uses are more practical in frontal assaults and defenses. You're more suited to be a mainstream pro than underground you know."

I stuck my tongue out at him and took another bite of rice. He was right, as he often was. I would best fit in with the likes of Kamui Woods and even Endeavor, considering our quirks were similar, than the underground world that Aizawa worked in. It's not that I couldn't be stealthy or do inside missions like him, that's what I had grown up craving. But, a part of me knew my skills would be wasted doing underground work. I just didn't want all the unnecessary hype or fame that came along with being mainstream.

"You mentioned you had a lot of homework, right? You can start that, I'll do the dishes tonight", Toshio smiled warmly at me.

I looked at him skeptically. "You _hate_ doing dishes"

"I do, but you need to be in top form in two weeks, that includes homework. I can give you a bit of a break right now"

I chewed the last of my dinner, having ate faster and more than the other three had yet. My quirk took a lot of energy to work so that meant eating a ton. My eyes looked from him to Kazuo, his face encouraging me that this wasn't the other trying to pull something on me.

"Alright, but I still don't trust it", I shrugged.

I took my plates to the sink a room over, returning to kiss both my dads on the head, and then carefully doing the same to Aizawa. He mumbled something like 'get that affection away from me' and I headed up stairs to start in on my hero politics assignment.

I made it about an hour before I groaned and stretched out on the floor of my room, the textbook was just so dry and I was beginning to lose focus. My feet found their way atop the low table in the middle of my floor and pushed my notebook off it.

"Dammit", I sighed.

I stood heading for the door, deciding some hot coffee will help me make it through this assignment and then to bed. I opened my door to hear Aizawa's quiet voice drifting up the stairs.

"We really ought to tell her sooner rather than later"

"How are we even supposed to bring it up at this point?", came Kazuo's strained reply.

"What, like she's never asked about her birth parents before?", Aizawa stated tartly.

I froze in place. Why were they talking about that?

"Of course she has! But she's been so busy with training to get into UA and all the insanity since the start of the school term that she hasn't brought anything up in a long while", Toshio whispered back.

"We also don't want to push it, what if she doesn't have any interest knowing anything about them anymore? We don't want to be intrusive"

"She _has_ to know"

I spun on my heel and quietly shut my bedroom door, sitting down at the table. It didn't make any sense that they would be talking about that? And yeah, I hadn't thought about it in a hot minute, but it was also hard to bring it up. I didn't want them to think that I thought they weren't being good enough parents and I didn't love them. We also had zero information about my bio parents, I had just been dropped off at a hospital. We didn't even know my exact birthday, the hospital had guessed that I had been a few days old so the estimated it to be November 5th which is what we always celebrated, not that I was huge on my own birthday anyway.

I busied myself with finishing the assignment, determined to forget about the strange conversation for now and worry about it later. They probably had just found out some strange thing about the adoption case and they would tell me all about it later.

* * *

The two weeks leading up to the festival were incredibly stressful. I had added the heavy weights to my work out routine with my dad and practical training in the afternoons only continued to get harder. They seemed to be trying to work us down to the bone. Including with theory classes. Which is how I wound up studying in the library across from Bakugo for a math quiz the next day.

This was always one of the subjects I loved and excelled in, but I knew I had to study hard and commit all these formulas to memory. I answered practice question after practice question just to assure myself I knew what I was doing.

Bakugo also worked through questions on his side of the table, flipping between pages to check his answers, smirking to himself as he kept getting them right. I set my pencil down and stretched, leaning my head on my hands and closed my eyes. I was exhausted.

"Oi, Star-eyes. You better not be falling asleep over there", Bakugo snapped at me.

I opened them to see his cherry red eyes glaring at me, lower lip jutted out.

"I'm tired Blasty, and I know these equations like the back of my hand now", I yawned in response.

Bakugo rolled his eyes, "I'm gunna kick your ass again"

I snorted, "It was by _half_ a point, and like fuck am I letting that happen again."

He rolled his eyes scowling at me, "No you ain't"

We returned to reading over notes and scribbling some answers down. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, wanting to tell him about the conversation between my dads and Aizawa I had overheard but I knew that Bakugo wouldn't care for personal talk like that.

"Hey, can I get some advice?", I asked.

He grunted in response, not looking up from his math.

"So, around a week ago I had overhead my parents and Aizawa talking about my birth parents and Aizawa insisting that I know something…which is weird because it was a closed adoption technically, since I was dropped off at the hospital, we don't even know my actual birthday, not that I like celebrating it anyways—"

"Wait, you don't even know your birthday?", Bakugo cut in sharply.

I shook my head, slightly surprised that he'd care, "No. They guessed me to be a couple days old at that point so they estimated November 5th. But I haven't thought about them in a long time, I've been so focused on getting in here and now school work that it hasn't crossed my mind much. But it was a really weird conversation, and I don't know what to do."

Bakugo eyed me, looking almost thoughtful as he stared at me. He returned to scribbling at his math.

"Well, if you wanna know about them just ask then. But fuck them for just abandoning their kid like that, what kinda parents do that? Weak people like that make me sick", he growled out.

I smiled softly at him, glad that he wasn't looking at me I knew he'd call me weak next for doing so. I opened my mouth to reply but what interrupted by a monotone 'excuse me'.

I looked over a table to find that Todoroki had taken up residence at it by himself, books and notebooks spread across it. I met his emotionless gaze, one steel gray and one vibrant blue eyes emotionless as he usually was.

"This is the library, can you keep it down please", he deadpanned.

I looked at Bakugo, his annoyance rising at 'the half n' half bastard' as he had so affectionately called him on multiple occasions. He opened his mouth to bite at him when I cut in to stave off any conflict in the library.

"Of course! Sorry about that"

His blank expression never wavered as he stared at me a second more and then nodded, returning to his own work. I looked back at Bakugo, who looked extremely pissed at me for interrupting.

"Hey, I'm done with this stuff, you ready to go?", I asked, quieter now.

His lip curled in annoyance, but he grumbled 'whatever' back to me. We packed our stuff up into our bags, he slung his bag over his shoulder and was already making his way to the exit. I followed after him, turning to look back at Todoroki again. His white and red hair split neatly down the middle of the back of his head. He was always quiet in class and I never saw him hanging out with anyone. He also intrigued me the same way Bakugo did, my curiosity of others demanding answers as to why he was the way he was, I blame Aizawa for this since he was so good at reading people and I had started to pick up on it too. Todoroki probably had the strongest quirk in the class, possessing both fire and ice at his disposal, though I still had barely seen him use his flames in our physical training, using his heat to only melt the ice he made when necessary.

"Hurry up, ya starry fuck", Bakugo called.

I blinked, having been stirred from my thought and turned on my heel.

"Coming!"

* * *

In the two weeks of prep I had managed to gain a little muscle and cut some fat down thanks to Toshio's weight training and extensive sparring. My body had become lean, looking like a true hero in the making. My diet has also been upped to a little more than 3000 calories a day because of the energy I was using between working out and my quirk. My ability to create stars depended on the amount of energy I could expend from my metabolism along with elements found in stars (we think, the doctors we had visited to get a better grasp on it were still so fascinated with it) and so I had to eat all the time. Which I currently was doing.

It was the morning of the festival and my nerves buzzed at the back of my mind, but I focused on the grilled fish Toshio had prepared for me. I had awoken earlier than my dads, deciding to do some yoga and stretching in my room before they woke up to help kill the nerves. Toshio sat across from me, reading the news on his ipad. Kazuo came down the stairs, hairbrush and elastic in hand.

"Can I do your hair for you my love? I want you to look your best today since it you'll be on TV!", Kazuo cooed.

I nodded as I stuffed another roll of nori and rice into my mouth, giving him a smile. The actual festival I wasn't too nervous about, though we wouldn't know what we were doing there until it started, it was the being on live television that I was terrified off. The entire nation was going to be watching and more importantly, the pro heroes scouting for sidekicks or even those to sign straight out of school as heroes to their agency. This was one of the most important moments of my life, and I had to prove myself.

Kazuo brushed through my long hair until it was tangle free and then began braiding it, humming absent mindedly. He always was the one to do my hair and dress me as a small child, and the one who took me shopping now. Toshio was good at putting my hair in a ponytail as a kid and encouraged athletic wear, especially since we spent so much time in the gym.

"We're having a bunch of people from the gym over today to watch you", Toshio commented, sipping on his coffee.

"That's so sweet of them to come watch with you two. I wish that you guys could be there in person though", I replied, fiddling with my phone.

He gave me a smile, "I know Hi-chan. Tickets go fast and are so expensive! But hopefully next time. And if not definitely your third year! But we'll cheer you on from here, I know you're going to do great"

"And no matter what, we are so proud of you and everything you've accomplished so far", Kazuo added, kissing me on the head.

I checked my hair in the camera of my phone. Kazuo had dutch braided it to the crown of my head and then secured it into a pony tail, my hair still hitting between my shoulder blades. I ran my hand across my undercut and turned to him smiling.

"It's perfect, thank you!"

"Oh, anything for you", he squealed and hugged me tight around the neck.

"Daaaaaad", I whined, making fake choking noises.

He laughed and let go, "You better get all your stuff together and head out, you'll need to catch the train soon and you don't want to be late!"

"I wouldn't dream of it", I answered.

I took the stairs two at a time to my room, I grabbed my sports bag that had my PE uniform, my fire-retardant sports bra and compression shorts, I felt like I was going to be burning through some clothes today, and my water bottle. I had gotten permission to wear my silver boots from my hero costume, after submitting a ton of paper work, saying that I'd otherwise be blowing up my shoes and that it wouldn't be safe for me to be running around barefoot. The school had agreed but the shoes would be waiting for me in the locker room.

After getting the (huge) bento lunch I had packed the night before out of the fridge and kissing both my dads goodbye, I stuffed my feet into my shoes and headed out the door, ready to face my future.

* * *

I sucked down my iced coffee, despite the warning of caffeine causing jitters I was exhausted, as I entered the waiting room for our class. More than half of my classmates were in here, most of them chorusing hello to me. I waved in response heading off to find my locker, my beautiful shiny boots inside. I hurried to the bathroom to change, checking that the braid my dad had done was still intact, and headed back out to get my boots on.

"This is so exciting isn't it! I'm so nervous to be on TV!", Ochaco babbled as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

I nodded in reply, tightening the laces, "I know. The media attention for this event is crazy!"

"So is the security! Did you see all the pro heroes walking around outside!", Kiri exclaimed sitting down next to me. "I saw Kamui Woods! And I hear that Endeavor is here in the first-year arena also! The number two hero!"

I sat up and looked at him in confusion, "Well of course, don't you know?"

"Know what?"

I was cut off from replying as said 'what' opened the door and walked into the room, as expressionless as always. He silently headed to his own locker and then to change. I looked back at Kiri lowering my voice.

"Todoroki is Endeavor's son. How can you not know that?", I whispered.

"Wait, what!", he exclaimed.

I shot my hand out over his mouth and shushed him.

"Endeavor's real name is Todoroki Enji, he isn't nearly as secretive as All Might, he's out in the public all the time. Todoroki lives up to his recommendations, but who do you think recommended him in?", I gritted out through my teeth, trying not to be overheard.

"I really didn't know. No wonder he's so good", Kiri shrugged.

I nodded, and chugged the rest of my coffee, and grabbed a protein bar out of my bag to munch on despite the large breakfast. The bicolored boy was still such a mystery. He was always quiet in theory classes, but gave good criticism in our practical training. He could be a bit blunt with them though which could come across as harsh. I never saw him sit with anyone during lunch and he avoided people like the plague. Aizawa always said that my curiosity would be my downfall since I couldn't keep my nose out of anything, despite him also quietly sticking his nose everywhere too.

Iida burst through the door, "Come on! We're entering the arena soon!"

The class stirred at his loud voice. Todoroki however walked away from the door and right up to Midoriya. The shorter boy looked nervous at his approach.

"Midoriya. From an objective standpoint I think it's clear that I'm the stronger one. However, you have All Might in corner. I won't pry and I don't care. But know this; I will beat you" Todoroki droned.

Gasps came from all over, my own eyes widening in shock at one of our own classmates declaring war on another. Kirishima got up from next to me and approached them both, putting a hand on Todoroki's left shoulder.

"Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? Right before we get started too!", The red head exclaimed.

Todroki jerked his arm back to knock Kirishima off, not bothering to turn around to answer him.

"I'm not here to make friends. Don't forget that this isn't a team effort"

He turned to stride out of the room, but Midoriya spoke up.

"Wait a second Todoroki. I don't know why you felt the need to tell me this. And yes, you are better than me. You're probably the best one in here. He's right. The other classes are coming at us with everything they got", Midoriya calmly said.

Todoroki stopped and turned to face him, the hint of a glare in his heterochromatic eyes.

"We'll all have to fight to stand out. And I'm aiming for the top too", Midoriya level his eyes at him.

"Fine"

He turned and stalked out of the room. I could hear Bakugo huff in annoyance. This sports festival is a lot of things. Our chance to show off and prove ourselves worthy as heroes in training. For those who didn't make it into the hero course a second chance. But it also emulated the cut-throat world of competition in the profession. Most heroes relied on popularity just as much as their skill to rise through the ranks. I did not want to tread on the friends I had made in just a short here, but I was blood thirty to prove myself.

* * *

We walked into the arena to Yamada-sensei hyping us up citing the recent media coverage from the USJ. The stands were absolutely _packed_. There were always people dying to come watch the festival in person, but typically the Third years arena looked like this since they had the most experience.

I was in between Bakugo and Kirishima as the other first year classes were announced alphabetically and filtered out and to the stage where Midnight awaited us, dressed in her provocative hero costume. It was necessary of course because of how her quirk worked, her skin needed to be readily exposed, like mine did. That didn't stop the boys from blushing and grape head from getting a nose bleed at the sight.

"And now for the student pledge, we have Bakugo Katsuki!", Midnight cried cheerfully.

The blonde walked to the stage, hands in the pockets of his track pants. His face stoic as whispers ran through the crowd of students.

"He did come in first in the exam, but they still chose him to be the class rep?", Midoriya whispered fretfully.

"Only first in the hero exam", a girl cut in sharply.

I rolled my eyes, everyone here hated our class, much thanks to the boy walking to the microphone. All eyes and cameras trained on him.

"I just wanna say", he spoke without emotion, "that I'm gunna win"

My mouth dropped open at his bluntness to the entire nation, other students booed around me. I could hear Iida shouting his disapproval for his words from somewhere ahead of me. I looked at Kiri, also just as shocked, and grinned.

"He's not wasting time so neither should we!"

Ruby eyes met mine with a determined stare and he nodded as Bakugo returned to where we were. The blondes face was serious as he looked me before turning to looked back at Midnight.

"Now, let's see what the first event will be!"

The screen behind her whirred through several event options. They did this to make it seem random to the crowd but Aizawa mentioned that they did choose the events ahead of time so they would have enough time to prepare, some of them were insane. The events came to a stop and it displayed "obstacle course".

"Obstacle course it is then! You will be running a race along a 4 kilometer track on the outside of the stadium! As long as you stay on the track anything goes! Get ready and take your places!", Midnight called, gesturing to the gigantic red gate.

I moved with the mass of first years towards it, the business students separating out and heading to the stands to run their own simulations on the crowd and gain experience, no interest in physical tests like this was going to be. I glanced around me, Kirishima to my right, Bakugo slightly ahead and to my left. I glanced behind me and saw Ochaco and Midoriya together, his unruly green hair standing out. I gave Ochaco a wave and she nervously waved back.

Turning my attention back to the door, which looked way too narrow to for all of us here, Todoroki's distinct spilt hair was a few rows of people in front of me near the front. His whole body was tensed, ready to run and pounce, like a lethal predator. He was going to be one of the biggest contenders here, besides the firey boy to my left. I took in a deep breath and shook my body to loosen up as Midnight began the countdown, releasing my nerves and focusing.

"GO!", Midnight yelled.

The mass of bodies surged forward into the too small space, I kept my hands up and elbows tucked, pushing other away to try and get through. I had already lost track of both boys in the madness of everyone trying to push through. I could faintly hear Yamada-sensei and Aizawa's commentary booming through the speakers. Something about the door. Oh _duh_. This was the first obstacle. Alrighty then.

I pushed harder, making my way through the rows of people separating me from the light at the end. I was going to get out and get going. I was so close when a mop of split hair broke free of the struggling bodies, and just barely above the noise I could hear the noise of his ice forming, heading back to us.

"Sorry", I gritted out.

I pushed myself up using my neighbor's shoulders to some complaint as the ice swept through, freezing their feet in place. With the others next to me at the front stationary I wove through them, slipping slightly on the ice. I broke out into the light at last, along with Bakugo, Kirishima, and a few others from my class. I grinned.

I took off, skating on the ice and melting it with my feet, classmates on my tail. The wails and protests of those stuck came from behind me as I ran, not sparing it a second thought. I pumped my legs as I ran after him, feeling the others close behind. Todoroki looked back for a second, but kept on.

I didn't want to use energy on my quirk yet, I could fly ahead and catch up easily, but just running for now would do. Until Todoroki came to a dead stop ahead, those of us behind pausing quickly after. The stupid robots from the exam were here. One, two, and three pointers all rolling forward. And a bunch of zero pointers looming behind.

"This is crazy, we're gunna die!", I could hear someone shout behind me.

Todoroki crouched down, frost swirling around his feet, before throwing his hand straight up, ice encapsulating all the zero pointers. I stood admiring the expanse of his ice, I still hadn't seen him hit his limit before and it was nuts.

"Quick! Through the legs!", someone called.

They were quickly muffled by the sound of an explosion, and there went Bakugo up and over the zero pointer. I grinned, clearly a better and flashier way of getting over. I ran two steps forward and blasted off after him, Tokoyami flying by on dark shadow and Sero in close pursuit after with his tape.

I kept my arms out to balance myself as I descended, rolling when I hit the ground and continuing, Tokoyami only just ahead. I started to take leaping bounds using my quirk, to catch up with him. I heard creaking behind me, probably the zero pointers falling over thanks to being frozen off balance.

The adrenaline pumping through my veins was astounding, I hadn't gotten to use my quirk in such a fun way in a long time. Quirks couldn't be used in public unless you were licensed, and since mine was rather destructive my dads didn't let me use it inside when I was younger. But visits to my grandparent's cabin in the summer, and their large residence in the countryside, were private land. I ran amuck, scorching the grass as I jumped and tried to fly.

I threw my head back as the wind whistled in my ears, pony tail waving wildly behind me. The overwhelming feeling of joy from this was everything.

I rounded the corner and saw a giant gorge dug into the ground, with several platforms connected by ropes. Todoroki was literally skating through them, icing over the ropes with his right foot. How was his balance _that_ good that he could just slide along them like that?

I increased my pace to get a good build up, and leapt over the side, warmth rushing my legs and stars bursting out from my shoes. I landed on the closest one taking a few running steps before jumping to the next one. Several others had caught up by now, I could hear Iida and Midoriya behind me, both noisy as always.

I kept my eyes trained ahead, Todoroki already making his onto the other side of the gorge. Bakugo was leaping from platform to platform as I was, propelling himself forward with his hands. I was halfway across when I went to leap again, when something collided into my back sending me off course and falling straight down.

"The hell!", I cried.

My hands reached out for the rope connecting the two, grabbing on to catch myself. I hung there for a second looking up. Tokoyami flew straight by with a sheepish look on his face, Dark Shadow sticking it's tongue out at me. Great, I'm glad a quirk is gunning for me. I flipped my legs up and crawled the rest of the way over to the next platform. A bunch of others were crossing over at his point, Iida shooting along with his engines. I'd have a harder time getting a good running start on the small platform now that I had to build up momentum again.

I took two long steps and pushed off the platform, stars exploding and pushing me forward. Three more jumps later and I touched down on the other side. I could see Tokoyami up ahead, along with Iida, Kirishima, that kid from 1-B that was yelling at us two weeks ago.

"I'm coming for you bird brain!", I yelled.

I ran forward as fast as I could, grateful for the amount of cardio that Toshio had made me do. I was sweating thanks to exertion and the heat of the sun bearing down on me, but my breathing was still under control.

I was gaining on Kirishima and the loud mouth, Tokoyami flying ahead still, Dark Shadow nowhere to be found at the moment. I leapt and shot forward with my quirk, Present Mic's voice announcing something but I was too focused to notice. I rounded the corner to hear several explosions, was Bakugo that pissed at something?

Turns out it wasn't really Bakguo, it was a _minefield_. Iida was trying to out run the explosions to no avail and was getting caught in the blasts of some. I could see Kirishima and Sero edging around them carefully. Todoroki and Bakugo were up ahead, actually fighting and trying to continue forward.

I shook my head and began tiptoeing around the small mounds of dirt, keeping my eyes trained on the ground. This was crazy. Clearly, they were just noisy and only just enough to send people flying, but the staff here was actually insane.

Bombs began going off behind me as people managed to tread on them as they tried to catch up. I glanced up seeing Tokoyami about 300 feet in front of me, Kirishima and Sero not far behind him. I grit my teeth, I was going to get that bastard back for almost knocking me into the gorge.

I took two more careful steps forward when a gigantic explosion sounded from behind me. My head whipped around to see a cloud of pink smoke spreading out across the field that was larger than it should have been considering the others I'd seen go off. I gaped at it as a figure flew out of it and over my head. It was Midoriya! On a piece of broken robot. He must have dug up a bunch of the bombs and piled them up to make an explosion that large.

That was when an idea popped into my head.

"Thank Midoriya!", I yelled.

My whole body flooded with warmth as I tensed and jumped, directly onto the two closest mines to me. They exploded and I shot stars out of my feet as they sent me skyward. My forearms lit up and I continued to propel myself forward with them.

"Oh yeaaah!"

I didn't make it anywhere near as high as Midoriya did, but it was enough to carry me to the other side of the mine field, and in front of Tokoyami. I descended a little too fast, and I dove into a roll and I hit the ground, coming up sprinting, the arena was so close. I wouldn't be first, but I knew I'd be close.

I made it through the arena gate, a little robot shouting 'SEVENTH' as I passed it. I breathed in heavily as the crowd roared as more people filtered in. I looked up to see Midoriya's face on the screen, he had managed to come in first thanks to that gigantic explosion. I glanced around to Bakugo gasping for air off to the side.

I wandered over to him, about to say something, but the glare he shot at me made me bite down hard on the inside of my cheek. He wiped a hand across his forehead and stomped back over to the stage that Midnight stood on. I sighed.

"Sorry about Dark Shadow trying to push you to your death like that", Tokoyami called behind me.

I turned and smiled, Dark Shadow sticking it's head up behind his shoulder, frowning.

"I'm not!", it crowed.

"We don't try to kill classmates!"

I laughed, "It's okay! Midnight did say anything goes. I'm sure if I had fallen somehow it would've been fine"

Tokoyami nodded, he rubbed at the feathers on his cheek.

"Let's head over, there'll be showing the results in a second"

We wandered over to the group that had begun accumulating in front of the stage, the results compiling on the screen behind Midnight. Midoriya in first, Todoroki in second, and Bakugo in Third. No surprise there. It was two students from class B that had managed to get ahead of me while I flew, then Iida, me, Tokoyami, Kirishima, Sero, and that loud mouth with the silver hair.

A lot of 1-B had seemed to make it, as the results kept scrolling. So had much of my own class, not many of the support or general studies made the top 42 cut. The boy with haunting eyes however had been one to make it at 27 which wasn't too bad considering I had no idea what his quirk was. I turned my attention back to Midnight who once again was waiting on the screen to decide what the next challenge was. It landed on Calvary Battle.

"How are we supposed to do a team event in this kind of setting?", I asked aloud.

"It'll be like the playground game, but with a twist! You will form teams of two to four. You all have a point value assigned based on place. Starting with 5 points at the bottom, increasing by 5 as it goes up. Except first place….is worth TEN MILLION", Midnight announced with a devious grin.

"The rider will have a headband with the team's total points on it so everyone knows how many points they're stealing"

Whispers shot through the crowd. I could almost hear Midoriya's panic at the announcement. It didn't even matter what you had placed, it could be anyone's game if you made it to the end with that headband. Or stole enough of the others. This wouldn't be the last event, the festival always ended with some kind of one on one fights with the top students. You didn't even have to come in first to move on. I had to make it to those fights, it was going to be the best place to show off.

My nerves ran wildly through my body at how close I was to where I wanted to be. This short-term goal had been pushing me since I had gotten my acceptance letter. I would make my dads proud. Show Aizawa that I was worthy to become a hero like him. And if there was anything to go by with their whispered conversation weeks ago, maybe I'd even get to make my biological parents proud. There was a lot of hurt still there from being left.

"You have fifteen minutes to make teams!", Midnight boomed through the speakers.

My eyes raked over the crowd of students next to me. I wanted to join with Bakugo, he would absolutely want to be a rider and I could handle his attitude. Not to mention between the two of us alone our points would be at 380. Which would be a good place to start building putting us ahead of others.

I spotted the blonde at last, he was surrounded by a bunch of our classmates, no doubt also asking to be in his team. I started heading towards them all. His red eyes darted in my direction and held my stare. He looked overwhelmed with the attention he was receiving, since he came in third and was incredibly powerful, but was just serious as he had been the whole day. He nodded once, answering my question without words.

I smiled and rushed the rest of the way over, bumping shoulders with the boy who had declared war on us as a class. His smirk was terrifying and his eyes seemed to stare straight into my soul. I glared at him and continued towards my favorite explosion boy.

"Let's kick some ass!", I yelled.

Some of the others had parted to let me through, not surprised but disappointed that I was joining him. He grinned manically at me, his drive to be number one was overwhelming and made me desire it too.

"Bakubro, let me be on your team!", Kirishima called pushing his way through.

His track jacket was torn to shreds around his neck thanks to his own quirk, but his eyes were alight with determination.

"Hey stupid hair"

"My name is Kirshima Eijiro! And our hair is almost the same! But anyway, let me join. You need a front horse that can handle your explosions because I know you want to be a rider. That's me!", He declared, pointing to himself.

Bakugo looked him up and down.

"I need someone with guts"

"Let's go get that ten million", Kiri grinned.

Bakugo narrowed his eyes for a moment before returning it.

"We're gunna win this", the blonde growled.

Kirishima brought our point value up to 545, but we needed another person, I was strong but I knew my arms would give out before the time of this event was up, and he'd balance better between three of us.

"We need one more, Bakugo. We'll be more stable that way", I added.

Bakugo's eyes traveled over the crowd of people who had backed up but hadn't wandered off yet since a team of four made the most sense, they were all hoping to make the cut. He glanced at me sideways before staring them all down.

"Oi, tape arms. Let's go"

"My name is Hanta Sero!", the lanky boy whined.

He shot forward with a smile on his face however and the surrounding crowd finally disappeared, grumbling as they went. I bounced up and down on my toes, this was a good team we had here.

"Okay shitty hair, you're gunna be in front so you better be able to take whatever I throw at you", Bakugo barked.

"That's why I'm here!", Kiri countered.

"Scotch tape will be on my left and star eyes will be on my right. You'll use your tape to help us grab headbands and slow down other teams, just don't make them fucking fall or well get a red card"

"Got it", Sero nodded.

"You", Bakugo jabbed his finger into my chest, "Gotta melt icy hot's ice with your stars. You can get the temperature high enough, right?"

I rolled my eyes, "Of course I can. You know I can just keep them forming under my skin to heat up whatever part I need. I've also been working on getting them to explode after I throw them, kinda like small supernovas. That takes a ton of energy though, so we shouldn't rely on that too much"

"You can make supernovas now?", Kirishima asked incredulously.

I grinned, "Hell yeah I can"

"Oi", Bakugo barked, focus shifting back to him.

"We're gunna get that 10 million headband from Deku, but we're gunna take half n' half's points too. We're gunna be the first-place team and advance no matter what, and I'll kick your asses later", he sneered, determination glinting in his eyes.

I snorted as we all nodded, Sero and Kiri looking slightly uneasy but excited nonetheless.

"You better not fuck this up"

* * *

 **A/N: Did ya make it? I hope you enjoyed it, and as always please let me know what you think!**

 **Until next time! ~Vic**


	8. Burnt Gym Uniforms

**A/N: So it's been a month and a half…. *insert upside down smiley face here* I moved back to college and school went 0-100** _ **real**_ **fast. I was sitting on about 4000 words before I moved at the start of the month, which was nothing. But I have finally finished this chapter! I'm sorry for the long delay, thank you for being patient.**

 **Also, this story hit over 50 follow and I am shook guys, thank you so much.**

 **I always appreciate hearing from you guy so please let me know what you think!**

 **Here it is!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks, it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

 **Eight: Burt Gym Uniforms**

* * *

After gulping some water down on the sideline my team hurriedly made it's way back to our starting position. Bakugo already had the headband on, a red '710' displayed in the middle of it. He glared at the ground with immense concentration. I took a deep breath in and stretched up. This was going to be insane.

"Riders get in position!", Midnight's voice boomed.

Kirishima, Sero, and I got into a triangle formation. I interlocked fingers with Kiri with one hand and gripped his shoulder with the other. I nervously chewed on my lip as we bent low enough for Bakugo to step into our hands and throw his leg over, resting slightly on Sero and I's arms. Bakugo had insisted on keeping his shoes on, despite Sero's protests. I had a feeling he didn't like to be touched, remembering when I climbed on his shoulders and how upset he had been.

"Bakugo, remember you'll have to balance on our forearms and the others hands so we can use our quirks when you need us to", I reminded him.

"I know star eyes, don't nag me", He growled.

I rolled my eyes and bent my knees ready to run. Midoriya was on the other side of the field but I knew we'd be running there first. His fluffy green hair stuck out even from here, he stood atop Tokoyami and Uraraka, and some girl I didn't know. Midnight had the crowd counting down with her, the excitement from them all resonating with my bones. Kirishima looks over his shoulder and gives a little nod.

"GO!"

We take off running, Sero and Kirishima both setting a fast pace. I can hear the crackles of explosions in Bakugo's palms already, I don't bother to look, keeping my eyes on the group everyone is out for. Other groups closed in faster since we were on the opposite end of the field. And then they literally _flew_.

The group took off from the ground, jet pack on Midoriya's back, and Ochaco wearing some crazy huge shoes. My eye's widened at the sight. The other girl with them must be in the support course to have all that gear. Great.

They flew over the heads of several other teams, landing out of our reach.

"Change direction!", Bakguo barked.

We dug our feet in and managed to turn, picking up speed again toward the 10 million headband. I could see the jetpack firing up again, though they were having some trouble taking off at first, but shot up with smoke trailing behind.

"How the hell are we supposed to keep up with that!", Sero exclaimed.

"Bakugo, we should go after the other teams—",

The heat from Bakugo's explosion brushed my face and he literally took off into the air, a second set of firey red propelling him closer to Midoriya. The three of us came to a stop.

"Shit, we need to be closer underneath him in order to catch him", I gritted out.

I urged Kirishima forward, he shot me a worried glance.

"How are we gunna catch him!"

I looked up to see Bakugo setting an explosion off on top of the group, but dark shadow blocked it. That bird.

"Sero, you gotta get him and pull him down to us! Brace for his landing!", I yelled.

Sero shot his elbow up, tape shooting out of it and latching onto Bakugo, yanking his arm down. He fell down to us, landing between our arms.

Kiri cheered, "Nice catch!"

"Don't take off without warning us next time!", I scolded.

The blonde shot me a glare as he righted himself over our arms again, completely intact.

"There wasn't time to explain", he grumbled. "Now come on we gotta go!"

I heard Present Mic's voice booming through the arena with gusto, my mind too focused on getting Bakugo standing and moving to register anything he says. I noticed the hand shooting above my head a second too late.

"Shit!", I cry out.

I let go of Kiri's hand, his larger one quickly compensating and grabbing Bakugo's foot. My arm heating up and glowing, I shoot it up to try and grab the arm that's pulling the headband off of the blonde's head. My fingers brush the underside of the forearm, scalding the persons skin, and they jerk back in pain.

"That hurt", they voice whined.

Bakugo furiously whipping around, we almost dropped him. I cooled my arm and grabbed for Kiri's hand to stabilize him. Kiri glanced back at me, eyes widening.

"Your jacket…"

I looked at my arm. I had signed the entire sleeve off. Damn uniforms.

"Don't matter", I say as I looked behind me.

It was a group of 1-B kids, the blonde riding looking smug, even as he rubbed at his wrist. I almost felt guilty for burning him, but his sneer drove any pity I had away.

"You need to think bigger Bakguo. They weren't gunna cut so many of right away after all, the race was only the first event. Only a fool would try so hard to be first so early", he droned on.

Kiri started shuffling around so we were parallel to them now. Bakugo was atop us absolutely seething.

"We all stayed in the middle, knowing we'd still advance, and we could observe how all of your quirks worked. We're in it for the long haul"

Bakugo twitched, "You did this as a class"

The 1-B boy shrugged as he put our headband around his neck.

"It wasn't unanimous but the majority was for it. Besides, better than hopelessly chasing after a temporary front runner, right?", he smiled.

I saw one of the boys supporting him whisper something to him, I glanced behind us, another group from 1-B was slowly approaching us from behind. We were going to be stuck between them, but I don't see why they'd bother since we currently had no points.

I glanced back at the group in front of us, the boy atop leering at us with gray eyes. He apparently wasn't done talking, deciding to add insult to injury.

"You're, famous, right? For being attacked by that sludge monster. Gosh, you'll have to tell me what always being the victim is like sometime"

Bakugo froze up, his entire body tense. I glanced up, his face in a deeper scowl than I've ever seen. Sero and Kirishima gasped looking at him.

"Change of plans. Before we take down Deku, we're going to take the points off every one of these b-list idiots", he ground out.

I gave the group in front of us a maniacal grin, hoping to scare them. The two closest flinched a little bit as they looked at me.

"Oh boy, y'all definitely fucked up now", I laughed at them.

Bakguo growled a battle cry atop us, smacking his fits together in an explosion.

"After them Kirishima!"

"Dude, you better not make us regret this!"

We ran forward full force at them, Bakguo throwing a fist straight for him but it was knocked to the side. The opposing blonde then set off his own explosion in Bakugo's face.

"Ooh, this is nice isn't it? Mine's better though"

Bakugo swung again, but his explosion was stopped as he _hardened_ his arms.

"Wait he has my quirk too!", Kirishima shrieked.

"Ah, damn copy-cat", I frowned.

"He can copy other people's quirks", Bakugo sneered.

"I guess even an idiot can figure it out", The blonde smirked.

"Monoma, lets go. We just need to keep these points and were good", one of his lackeys said.

Kirshima tried to step forward when the group that had been tailing us finally intervened. The guy in front shot out a glue-like substance, trapping Kiri's foot to the ground.

"It's too sticky!"

"I got it!"

I shot my foot over it and started melting it with the heat from my stars. This wasn't good, we had no points and almost no time left. I could feel Bakugo shaking in anger against my arms, he was going to kill someone if we didn't act fast. Monoma was throwing words over his shoulder I couldn't catch at Bakguo but it only riled him up further. Kirishima finally pulled his foot free from the gunk.

"We're going after them. Getting ready", he barked out. "Kirishima!"

"On it!"

Kirshima ran us forward, Sero and I pushing our legs to keep up with his pace. Without warning Bakugo leapt, throwing himself straight at the other team.

"Get back here, losers!", he screamed.

The boy in front blew out what looked to be a shield of some sorts, Bakguo clung to it, mercilessly punching at it. We ran closer, trying to close the gap. He smashed through it and reached for Monoma.

"Sero!", I cried.

He shot his elbow forward, safely bringing Bakugo back on top of us. He held several headbands in his grip and fastened them around his neck. Present Mic shouted something about how we jumped back on the board.

"We're not done! Scotch tape, shoot your tape at the wall and pull us forward when I say", His head whipped around to me, "You're gunna help give us the lift we need to get off the ground, I'll propel us forward. On three. One."

I didn't even have time to say anything to that, as he turned around. My legs flooded with warmth, I channeled all of my energy into them so we'd be able to get airborne.

"Two."

"You both gotta jump and hold on tight!", I yelled.

"THREE"

The heat exploded from my feet as Sero and Kirishima jumped, Sero pulling us and Bakguo giving us the power to move. The entirety of my legs were lit up in light as we flew through the air and Bakugo snatched the last of the headbands off of Monoma's neck.

"Brace yourself Kiri!"

His legs shot out onto the ground, bring us to a stop. I breathed heavily, my legs screaming at the energy I just put out. I had shredded the track pants from above my knees down, boots intact only because they're meant to withstand the heat.

"Team Bakugo has shot into second place!", Present Mic bellowed.

"We're going after Deku and half n'half next!", He roared above us.

"Dude, we're moving on!", Kirshima ran forward anyway.

"We're gunna be number one!"

We approached a wall of ice, courtesy of said 'half n' half, Bakguo's hands sparking.

"Let me help!", I screeched.

Not giving him a chance to complain, I shot my hand over Kirishima's shoulder, palm shooting a massive star bolt at the ice melting a passage through. Bakugo leapt again, explosions sending him above us as we ran to get between Midoriya and Todoroki.

"Bakugo!", Kirishima scolded as he soared on without us.

Midoriya was trying to get at Todoroki, desperation in his eyes. The bicolored boy held a metal rod encased in ice ready to smack him away.

"Dammit icy hot!", Bakugo cried, setting an explosion off that sent him careening towards them both.

"TIME IS UP!"

Kirishima stopped with no warning, Sero and I both running into his back. Bakugo landed unceremoniously on the ground, angry as ever. We broke formation and headed for him, face down on the field.

"Bakguo are you okay?", Kirishima asked.

The blonde angrily beat his fist against the ground, a growl in his throat.

"LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS! In first, we have team Todoroki! In second, Team Bakugo!"

"We're moving on guys! It's all good", Sero smiled

"Tell that to him", Kirshima groaned.

Bakugo was sitting up now at least, but he leaned over and let out a vicious scream. Despite coming second, we were still moving on. There would be the final battle for the top in afternoon, yet he looked like his entire world was falling apart.

"In third place we have Team Testu…oh, Team Shinso! When did they make a comeback!", Present Mic continued.

I glanced at Kirishima and Sero, "Who's that?"

They both shrugged. Must be some B class kid.

"And in fourth place…barely scraping the points together…it's Team Midoriya! Now, we'll resume the festivities after an hour lunch break! See you soon!"

I glanced at the score board. Those advancing to the finals was predominately class 1-A. I had no idea who Shinso was and who all was on his team. Who knows exactly what they'd have for us in the finals, it was always some variation of fighting, tournament style. It wasn't always combat style, they'd do ridiculous things sometimes, and with Midnight as ref it could get _weird_.

"Let's go to lunch! It's going to be packed if we don't hurry", Kirishima urged.

I shook my head, "I brought my lunch, it's back in our waiting room. I'm going to take it up to my uncle in the booth, I have a feeling he's going to try and nap and not eat anything. Go ahead without me!"

"Awww so sweet, taking care of your caterpillar uncle like that", Sero cooed.

I rolled my eyes, "Oh shut up and get going, you tape dispenser"

Kirishima and Sero laughed and started walking off the field, both talking excitedly to each other. I glanced back to where Bakugo was, he had scorched the ground with his explosions in his fit of anger at not being first. Both with the preliminary and now the second round. The blonde had seemed to calm down some and get a handle on his outburst. I took a step toward him.

"Fuck off stars, I don't need you patronizing me", he spat over his shoulder.

I stopped and stood still, pulling at my fingers, choosing my next words carefully.

"I wasn't going to. Just gunna say you need to go eat too. Gotta keep your energy up to kick ass, and I won't accept anything but your best when I fight you", I smiled softly.

Bakugo stood suddenly and turned, his cinnamon colored eyes glaring at me and mouth twitching in a frown.

"I can take care of myself. Don't you gotta look after your uncle, damn teacher's too stubborn for his own good"

He made a clicking noise with his tongue and stomped past me to the exit out of the stadium. I sighed and headed back to entrance to get to the locker room.

Sdgfsdsasgdgfdhsgdf

"Ojisan, you can't nap right now, you gotta eat"

A mumbled reply that sounded a lot like curses came from inside the sleeping back. I rolled my eyes and unzipped it to find Aizawa's bandaged face. I could feel the glare from under them all at me.

"Not hungry. Am sleepy, shhh"

"And I thought I was the child here"

"Don't be rude to your elders, Hi-chan. Especially when they're injured", he groaned, sitting up against the wall.

Aizawa had made his nest against the back wall of the commentators booth. He had somehow managed to convince Yamada-sensei to leave him be go eat without him. His eyes peeked out of the dressings, looking almost more exhausted than they normally did. I sat down across from him, and started unpacking my lunch. His eyes looked at my right arm and then my legs.

"We have spare uniforms you know. You've completely destroyed this one", He droned.

I shrugged as I chewed on my food, "If the school would make them more resistant to damage this wouldn't be a problem."

He nodded in agreement. "Just make sure you change before going back out on the field for the final events. You're doing great kiddo. You're giving the boys in your class a run for their money"

"It might be a predominately male profession, but I'm good at kicking ass thanks to you and dad", I grinned.

"I'd like to think I'm good at something", Aizawa scoffed.

I shoved the second set of chopsticks at him but he shook his head again.

"Not hungry. Plus I don't wanna undo all these bandages just to rewrap them so soon"

"You'll need to let the wounds breathe soon, ya know".

"Yeesh, are you my mother", Aizawa smirked.

We stared at each other before we both burst out laughing, thankfully he didn't flinch this time from the movement. We sat in a comfortable silence as I finished inhaling my lunch. I took a sip of water and gave a content sigh.

"No one can pack it away like you do"

"Hey, I gotta quirk that takes energy to work. I can't use it if I don't eat!", I stuck at my tongue out at him.

My uncle brushed his hair out of his face and looked at me.

"Hikari. You don't have to win your first go around with this. You've already made a huge impression. Flying over robots, melting Todoroki's ice the way you did. Your team got a lot of your points back because of your support"

I frowned, "So, what? Are you saying I can't win against those that have advanced?"

"You know that isn't what I meant", his eyes stern beneath the bandages. "There's some tough people to beat this year who've moved on with you. Even if you don't win this time, pros will remember you. You're made to be a hero"

My eyes flew up and I smiled. His dark eyes held a soft light in them that few got to see. I put my hand on his knee and squeezed.

"Thanks, Ojisan"

"Now hurry and go change. You've got some fights to win"

I stood quickly and bowed low.

"I'll do my best!

* * *

The halls were still quiet in the stadium, there was still another twenty minutes before we had to be back at the entrance to the field. I hurried to the locker room to put on a fresh uniform and put my things away. I flung the door open a little too hard in my rush and it knocked against the wall with a loud bang.

"Whoops", I breathed out.

"You're always loud", a monotone voice came.

Todoroki came around from the lockers, face as blank as ever. His heterochromatic eyes looked me over. I flushed a little as I'm sure I looked like a mess in my destroyed gym clothes. I walked past him and to my locker, putting my things away and fishing around for a new uniform.

"And you're always quiet", I retorted.

He only hummed noncommittally in response. I went to the bathroom to put on the fresh uniform and returned to find him sitting at the table, hands pressed together to his chin. I threw the destroyed clothes in the trash and grabbed my water bottle, sitting across the table. His eyes were closed and his face looked terse.

"I heard you"

"Hm?", I quirked an eyebrow.

"When you were telling Kirishima who I was"

I choked on my water and coughed.

"I didn't mean to sound gossipy", I replied sheepishly. "He mentioned seeing Endeavour here in the first-year arena and wasn't aware that he was your dad. I don't know how, since Endeavour is so open to the public about his life"

I swear I saw his eye twitch, but Todoroki nodded.

"Yes. He is here to see me fight. He wants me to win by any means necessary, but I refuse to fight with my left side. I will win without his flames"

I looked at him hesitantly. Aizawa hadn't worked with the flame hero much, since he did his work underground and Endeavour basked in the spotlight, but he had interacted with him enough to tell me that he detested the man as a person. With that information and the fact that Todoroki never used his flames in training, it wasn't hard to figure out that something had gone wrong between father and son.

Todoroki was far ahead of the majority of our class, both in combat and in control over his powers. Knowing that his father is the number two hero he probably had been training his whole life for this. Aizawa and my father both pushed me hard in my training, but looking at Todoroki's attitude towards the man made me worry.

"I understand that having Pros in the family is hard. We worry for their lives. And I know about the pressure to succeed, especially the pressure put on yourself", I mouthed carefully, fiddling with my water bottle.

His blank face faltered for a moment, but his eyes looked back at me nonetheless.

"You can't understand. I was 'created' for this. For the sole purpose of becoming the next number one hero, since my father never could. How could you understand any of that, when you're just the pseudo niece of our homeroom teacher", Todoroki bit out coldly.

My chest flooded with anger, but I simply cast my eyes down to the table. I felt my face flush red out of frustration. I gripped my water bottle hard enough my knuckles turned white.

"I don't know what your life is like at home. And you don't know mine. I've never even met my biological parents, they abandoned me. Left me like I was trash" I murmured.

I glanced up to meet his eyes, face still blank. I inhaled sharply before speaking louder.

"But my adoptive dads and Aizawa are everything to me. Family isn't about blood. It's who you care about and who cares about you. You aren't your father. Don't be like him if you don't want to"

Todoroki's eyes widened just a fraction, almost undetectable. I kept his gaze, refusing to look away. His mouth twitched into almost a frown and he shrugged apathetically.

The door banged open again, Uraraka bouncing through it. For some reason she was in a cheerleading unifrom Her eyes light up as she spots me. She runs over to me.

"Hikari-chan! You did so good in the last round, I wanted to tell you at lunch but you weren't there!", She grinned.

I smiled softly, "Yeah, I had an uncle to try and feed. He was asleep on the floor of the commentator's booth"

"Pfft, that sounds just like sensei!", she giggled.

Todoroki took this moment to stand and exit the room, brushing past Ochaco quickly. The brunette looked after him quizzically, glancing back to me.

"Wonder why he's especially stand offish today"

I only shrugged in response.

"Why on earth are you wearing that?"

Ochaco grinned and twirled, "YaoMomo made them for the big cheer battle!"

"…there isn't a cheer battle. Who told you that?"

She stopped mid twirl and the color drained from her face as she looked at me.

"Mineta told Yaomomo who told all the other girls at lunch, they're going to be on the field in the uniforms!"

I stood hurriedly knocking the chair back, "Let's go stop them then!"

* * *

We had made it just in time to catch the rest of the girls, Yaoyorozu was seething at the stunt Mineta had almost pulled off on them all, but they had enough time to run back and change before we had to be on the field for the next part of the festival. The purple haired pervert looked devastated as the seven of us walked on the field together, in gym uniform.

I stalked past him, close as I dared I didn't want to be any closer to his nastiness than I needed to be, glaring him down. He shrunk back and was almost shaking.

"Pull that shit again on the other girls, and I will kick your ass", I hissed.

I continued walking on to the front of the crowd next to my team, not sparing him a second look. Kirishima and Sero looked at me confused but I waved them off, promising to explain later.

Midnight took the stage once again.

"Now even if you didn't move on in today's competition there will be fun recreational games for everyone to participate in! The sixteen finalists are free to sit out if they wish to prepare for battle. Now, come forward to draw lots and see who you'll be facing!". She exclaimed.

The R rated hero started to move down the platform, but in front of me Ojiro's hand shot up.

"Excuse me, but I'm withdrawing"

I gasped along with the rest of the crowd around me. How could he withdraw from such an important event?

"Ojiro no!", Midoriya cried to him.

"This is how you get scouted, think about this!", Iida shouted.

"I have okay!"

Ojiro looked down at the ground.

"This is where we get to prove ourselves because we earned our way here. I don't remember what happened during the cavalry battle at all until the end. I'm certain it was that guys quirk. So, I don't know if I really deserve to be here", he said solemnly.

I glanced at Mina and Aoyama, who were also on his team. They were looking away from the blonde choosing to withdraw. Something weird must have happened in the cavalry battle.

Midnight looked him over for a moment, debating over the situation.

"This seems incredibly naïve my boys….that turns me on! You're withdrawn!", She exclaimed.

"Did she actually just say that?", I whispered to Kiri.

He nodded, "Yep"

"Very well then! We must move one person up from the fifth place team!", Midnight announced.

"My team was frozen most of the time", a girl with orange hair spoke up. "We didn't do much. You should pick from Tetsutestsu's team because they fought the whole time"

"Kendou no!", The silver haired loud mouth gasped.

"Hey, it's just fair", She smiled back at him.

The four on his team circled up to decide who to move on, it turned out to be Tetsutetsu who they decided on.

"We have our finalists! Now draw lots so we can see the match ups!"

I pulled my lot and wound up being the first match in the second bracket, against Kaminari. Yaoyorozu had mentioned something about him also convincing her of the cheerleader thing. I looked around to find him. He grinned good naturedly at me.

"I'm not gunna go easy on you cuz you're a girl!", he joked.

I smirked back at him, "Don't feel too bad when I win then"

"Get ready for the side games! The finalists who do not wish to participate may leave now!", Midnight called above the uproar of the crowd.

* * *

Midoriya literally almost walked out of the ring in the first match. The boy with violet iris and white pupils, Shinso as I know now, has a quirk that allows him to brainwash anyone if they answer a question her asks. Ojiro had apparently even warned Midoriya about the quirk and he still managed to get brain washed.

But somehow, he broke free of it a step before walking out of bounds, and turned around, pushing the other boy out of the ring. Shinso clearly was relying entirely on his quirk and had very little physical strength and no fighting experience. He wouldn't make it as a hero like that. He would've been incredibly disadvantaged in the entrance exam due to the physical nature of gathering points, a whole process that Aizawa detested. But Shinso is like Aizawa in not having a physical quirk like All Might. He could still easily become a hero, and the fact that he made it this far as the only general student too, is amazing.

The arena clapped and shouted in response at the turn of events, but you could hear the confused murmuring through the crowd. This green beansprout had made it through two intense rounds and moved forward in this one without using his quirk. Nothing like this had happened before in the history of the sports festival being broadcast. Typically, those that made it to fighting rounds had very strong defensive quirks, like Todoroki.

Speaking of the fire and ice prince, his fight against Sero was up next. Both boys hadn't joined the class in the viewing box since their fight was so soon. I would likely have to miss half of this fight to get down to my own against Kaminari.

The electric boy had sat himself down in between me and Bakugo. The firey blonde made a point of not looking at me as he sat on the very edge of the row, probably still pissed about our second-place failure the previous round.

"Who do you think will win Arai?", Kaminari asked excitedly, turning to me.

"Sero's improved, but he doesn't stand a chance against Todoroki. He's been training a lot longer that most of us here", I replied, "1000 yen he sticks him in a block of ice in the first fifteen seconds"

"No way it's that fast, Sero stands more of a chance than that!", Kaminari hummed back to me.

"Oi, Pikachu. Stars. Shut the hell up, it's starting", Bakugo hissed at us both.

Todoroki's hair was striking even from this height as he approached his side of the arena. One of the screens was focused on his face, the look in his eyes as cold and distant as ever. Sero bounced nervously in place, a grin on his face. You could see his lips move, but they never bothered with trying to get the audio of the contestants. Probably some stupid manly guy talk.

It turns out that I was being generous with the fifteen seconds. Sero had shot out a quick attack, entrapping Todoroki in an attempt to throw him out of bounds. The telltale crackle of his ice boomed through the arena, and an entire mountain of ice was inches above our heads.

"What the fuck icy hot! Are you trying to kill us all?", Bakugo screamed.

I pressed my hand flat against the ice above me. The cold hurt against my skin, but there was something enchanting about Todoroki's ice. It was so different than the intense heat that ran through my own skin, tiny supernova's at my fingertips. His power was something that would be hard to rival. He could easily be a sidekick as he is now, at the age of fifteen. Honestly, he was likely stronger than some of the pro's sitting in the arena right now. Todoroki was kind of insensitive though.

"Todoroki advances to the second round!", Midnight thundered through the arena.

"I can't see anything! What happened?", Hagakure whined.

"Sero must be stuck in the bottom of all this", Midoriya responded over his shoulder.

I stood, having to duck my head and nearly crawling over Kaminari and Bakugo to get the stairs. I started up them still hunched to get ready for my fight. It would take a while for them to sort all this ice out.

"Hey, constellations"

I turned to find ruby eyes glowering at me. Even sitting he managed to have that hunched 'I don't care about anything' look about him.

"Kick some ass", The blonde smirked.

I grinned back, "Of course I will"

"Dude! What about me?", Kaminari whined, trying to get out to the stairs.

"What about you? You were on the other team, I wanna see you lose, Sparky!", Bakugo spat back.

* * *

I had just checked in with Midnight on my side of the arena, all set to go. They were still clearing away some of the ice from the stadium and Cementoss had to repair the cracks in the arena stage. I bounced up and down on my toes waiting to be signaled to move out.

"Guess you were right about explosion boy being the only one to worry about from your class, huh?", a monotonous voice called.

Shinso approached from the other end of the hall, looking exhausted as ever. A frown on his face, and hands stuffed into his pockets. I frowned back at him.

"You know, the only reason you lost was because he was stronger than you physically. And that was without his quirk too", I said, stretching my arms.

His violet eyes narrowed and he made a clicking noise with his tongue.

"Don't know how he got out of brainwash, that's never happened", Shinso grumbled.

I stretched my arms up to loosen my shoulders and nodded.

"You have such a strong quirk. It isn't your fault that the entrance exam benefits those with physical quirks. You could take down villains in a more peaceful manner than anyone in Class 1-A to be honest", I mouthed.

Shinso looked up from glaring at his feet to stare at me in surprise. I grinned at him.

"You'll never make it as a hero if you don't get your ass in shape. My dad owns a gym though, you should come by and train. If you're really serious about trying to get into the hero course that is"

His shock melted into an uneasy glance, trying to see if I was joking or not.

"Why help me?", Shinso inquired.

I hummed as I ran my hand over the braid in my hair, pulling tight on the ponytail.

"You remind me of someone I know"

"It's time to go Miss Arai", Cementoss called.

I turned to walk out into the stadium, throwing a hand up in farewell to Shinso. I followed Cementoss out, the roar of the crowd deafening. The sun so much warmer than the cold hallway leading out to the stadium. Cementoss gestured to the stairs leading up to the arena. I ascended them, nerves building with every step.

Kaminari and I mounted the stage at the same moment, a shit eating grin on his face as we walked the few steps in that we needed to. I stood perfectly straight, hands resting in the small of my back. I focused on clearing my head of everything but this fight against Kaminari.

"We have two students from class 1-A in this next one! The electrifying member from Team Todoroki, Kaminari Denki!", Present Mic boomed through the speaker system. "And of course, the star stand out—get it—from Team Bakugo, Arai Hikari! She's also the niece of our very own Eraserhead, here in the booth!"

"Irrelevant to the situation", Aizawa's voice droned after Mic's loud introductions.

"Anything I say is relevant! Especially this! START!"

Kaminari's body encircled with electricity, his grin only gerowing wider, and more manic, by the second.

"I don't want to be so hard on my own classmate, especially such a cute girl like yourself. We should go out sometime, it'll be my apology for kicking your ass", he crooned across the field.

I narrowed my eyes and raised an eyebrow in response. I bent my knees getting ready to push off. Kaminari had a bad habit of overdoing it on the first attack in training, I was banking on him sticking to it in this.

"Indiscriminate shock, 1.3 Million volts!", He roared.

The moment he brought his hands down to shoot the electricity my way, I shot up. I hovered for a moment, seeing the confusion on his face turn to the slack jawed look of him frying his own brain.

Bending forward I set another bust of stars off, firing myself in his direction. I grinned as I approached at a breakneck pace, grabbing him around his right arm and a fistful of shirt. Digging my feet into the ground and using my momentum, I spun and flipped him hard onto his back. I immediately dropped over him digging my knee in his sternum, a glowing hand inches from his face.

"Heeeeeee", Kaminari wheezed out at me.

"Kaminari has been immobilized, Arai wins!", Midnight shouted through the speaker system.

The arena roared as I got off him, he sucked a breath in whilst babbling. I shook my head, he's got to stop frying himself like this before he gets permanent brain damage.

"It was over in an instant! Almost as fast as Todoroki's match! Your niece is amazing Eraserhead!", Mic sang.

"She knew her opponents quirk and how he uses it. Hikari had a plan to avoid his initial shock and used her quirk to enhance her combat skills. Did it all on her own", Aizawa answered.

I smiled up at the booth hearing his praise. Kaminari continued to blabber away at my feet, looking at nothing in particular.

"Come on you fried egg, let's get you to Recovery Girl", I sighed.

I grabbed him by both hands and helped him up to his feet, at least all the emergency functions like walking still worked. I slung his arm around me and gripped his back for support and headed off the way I came on.

"And she's also such a good sport helping her fallen opponent off the field!", Mic gushed.

I flushed as the arena roared louder after his comment. I wouldn't want to be stuck lying there if I was him, of course I was going to help get him out of the arena and away from the cameras. Cementoss took his weight from me as I made it to the stairs, grin on his face.

"That was quite exceptional Hikari"

"I mean, he threatened to take me on a date when he won, and I couldn't have that", I laughed.

* * *

Watching Bakugo fight full out while not running him around was one of the most intense things I had ever seen. The blonde was fierce and terrifying, and he wasn't going to give Ochaco an _inch_. The cheerful brunette fought hard, matching the frightening look on his face every time she threw her body at him, reaching her fingers out to try and land all five to send the blonde airborne. Bakugo cracked the concrete with every explosion he sent her way. It was brutal.

But Ochaco was being sneaky, scooping up the debris the blonde was creating and sending them to hover above him, collecting more and more chunks of concrete floating high in the arena. I was on my feet leaning over the balcony at this point, eyes glued to the fight. I shouted encouragement to Ochaco, insisting that she was so close to her goal.

"How can he do this to a girl?", Iida asked incredulously behind me.

"This is just cruel", Mina shouted.

"Kacchan is incredibly intense", Midoriya added, jaw set tight.

The crowd seemed to agree, many people had begun to boo at Bakugo, screaming that he was being cruel and unheroic. I bristled with anger, everyone here was blind to the entire situation at hand.

"Don't be ridiculous, don't you see what's going on?", I threw over my shoulder, refusing to take my eyes off the two below.

My uncle seemed to agree with my sentiment at this point, interrupting Yamada-sensei by literally elbowing him out of the way if the yelp of pain was anything to go by.

"If you think for one second that Bakugo is doing this to be cruel you are an imbecile and should leave this profession immediately if you're a pro. Bakugo recognizes that his opponent is strong for making it this far. He isn't toying with her, he is doing everything in his power to win. Uraraka is giving this match her all, Bakugo would never not meet an opponent exactly half way", Aizawa's voice rumbled through the arena.

"I'd understand for the inexperienced not to notice what's happening, but as a pro…you really should be paying more attention"

Midoriya jumped to his feet next to me, staring up at debris now.

"Do it Ochaco!", I screamed, pumping one fist in the air, the other holding onto the railing as I leaned over.

It was at that moment that the concrete began to fall, Bakugo finally looking away from his opponent for the first time the entire match. Ochaco had a manic grin on her face as it all fell. Midoriya shouted something next to me as I watched Bakugo raise his hand, bracing it with the other, letting off the biggest explosion of today so far.

I threw my hands over my face as tiny shards of concrete flew around the stadium, ears ringing from the noise. Wiping at my eyes Ochaco stood looking distraught that her plan hadn't worked, Bakugo griping his other arm still. The backlash from that explosion most have been insane.

"Come on Uraraka!", Midoriya yelled.

The gravity girls face set into a frown, but she took a step forward, ready to try something else. Bakugo scowling as she advanced. But she didn't even make it more than a step forward as she stumbled and fell, blacking out from the sheer exhaustion.

"Uraraka has been incapacitated! Bakugo advances to the next round!", Midnight declared.

I stood still as the crowd applauded politely to the winner. Bakugo's face was blown up on the giant screen, looking confused that his opponents body literally gave out. I looked at Midoriya hurriedly mumbling to himself, pulling at his bottom lip.

"That was wild", I said.

"Kacchan's always been incredible, but Uraraka has so much spirit. She almost had him…", he mumbled in response.

"Isn't your fight against Todoroki next, Midoriya?"

He gave me a watery smile in return, I could feel his nerves rolling off his body.

"And you're going to face Iida. Good luck catching him", The shorter boy joked quietly.

I grinned, "Good luck, Midoriya. Todoroki's tough. I'll probably miss most of your fight unfortunately, I want to meditate before mine"

"Don't worry about it", He squeaked.

Midoriya passed me to run up the stairs to head down for his fight. Todoroki hadn't come up to watch with the rest of us. I followed after him to the stairs, waving to the other girls as they wished me luck.

"Arai", Iida called.

I rolled my eyes, "Call me Hikari, Iida. You don't need to be so formal with me"

Iida gave a jerky nod in response. "You're a formidable opponent. I'm going to do my best to beat you"

I gave a small laugh at how tense he was, like always.

"I'd expect nothing from our fearless leader, class rep"

* * *

Iida, unlike Kaminari, was disciplined and knew how to fight. However, I had more range of movement. After watching him run enough times I had figured out that he couldn't make tight turns while he was going full out. He probably was going to charge straight at me and try to push me out of bounds right away.

The both of us stood across from one another on the stage, the crowd was surprisingly quiet. I wonder who had won the last fight and how it had gone. I stood straight, hands behind my back once again. Iida scrutinized me from the other side of the field.

"Will speed beat stars? We're gunna find out in this match, ladies and gentlemen! Get ready, and go!", Mic screamed.

Iida immediately started up, coming straight for me as I thought he would. My right hand began to glow as I grinned, letting one small star float a few feet in front of me. I wouldn't be able to throw Iida around like Kaminari, he was much larger than I was. So I was going to have to incapacitate him, which means catching first.

"That star sure is pretty, but it's tiny! What is Hikari doing?", Came Mic's voice.

I quirked my lips up and focused on the star in front of me, Iida nearing closer. These stars were a part of me, and even when I had the float like this I could feel their connection. It was pure energy, running on the same length as me. I stretched my right hand forward, flexing all five fingers. The energy resonated between the star and my hand, tension traveling up my entire arm. I clenched my jaw as I focused on collapsing the star in on itself, pushing down on it.

Iida was right in front of me, a blur of blue approaching like a freight train. I released a harsh breath and clenched my hand.

The star exploded from the pressure, a tiny supernova between us. I jumped and rolled to the right, trying to get behind him. Iida had thrown his hands up to shield his face from the heat and light. I had landed almost parallel to him. I jumped again, shooting stars out and shot myself at him, gripping at his shoulders.

"What the heck!", Iida cried.

"You can't push me out of bounds if I'm attached to you!"

I wrapped my legs around his torso, anchoring myself to him better. Sliding my arms around his neck, I quickly put him in a rear naked choke hold. His massive hands flew to my forearm in panic as I slowly began to cut off his air. I had an iron grip on my own bicep to keep my arm in place as he pulled at it.

"Your niece is hardcore Eraserhead! She's _literally_ choking Iida out right now!" Present Mic exclaimed, sounded both amazed and terrified.

"Hikari has shown incredible prowess in combat, both with and without quirks. She's applying a choke hold right now, which was a good way to go. Iida also excels at combat and is much larger than Hikari is, not to mention much faster. She wouldn't have been able to land any physical hits on him due to his speed, and like this he can't push her out of bounds", Aizawa remarked in monotone.

"You have amazing students! I can't believe they actually learned from you!"

"Mic—"

Iida was grunting as I flexed my arm harder, pushing on the back of his head with my other hand. I was going to get him to submit. I listened carefully to his breathing in case he took the stubborn route and pass out on me instead of tapping out. Iida fell forward onto his knees, still gasping to try and get air.

"I—urk—surrender", Iida croaked out.

"Iida has submitted!", Midnight boomed.

I immediately let go, hopping off his back as he fell forward onto his hands, sputtering as a he gulped in oxygen. The arena was wild, people screaming. I smiled and waved up at the booth. I was moving onto the semifinals, against either Midoriya or Todoroki. I was going to prove that I was just as good as any male student was here.

I walked around to face Iida, he sat back on his heels having regained the air had stolen. He looked at me almost embarrassed.

"I had no idea you could do that Hikari. But it was a good match"

I held a hand out and helped the boy to his feet.

"It was. If I hadn't caught you, I probably would've lost"

"Perhaps. Guess I'll have to train harder and beat you next year!"

I smiled as we walked off the field.

"Looking forward to it"

* * *

I returned to the class locker room to find Todoroki inside it, looking miserable as he stared down at the table. It was the most emotion I had ever seen expressed on his features.

"Did you win?", I asked tentatively.

Bicolored eyes looked up at me, not a trace of any of the previous emotion on it anymore.

"Yes. Midoriya broke his fingers and hand", He replied monstrously.

"Yikes. Have you ever seen a quirk like that before? It just destroys his body"

Todoroki nodded and returned to looking at the table. I walked to my locker quickly, fishing around for a protein bar to shove down my throat before the next match.

"I won mine, so I guess I'll be facing you next then", I said closing the locker door.

Todoroki only hummed in response not even bothering to turn and look at me. He was as standoffish as Bakguo was, but it was cold like a blizzard where Bakugo was an erupting volcano. I rolled my eyes and headed for the door, I wasn't going to sit in here if he was just going to ignore me directly. My hand was turning the handle when he spoke.

"I refuse to lose Arai. Please do your best, I want to show my father how strong I am without him. Fighting someone weak won't do"

I gripped the handle tighter at his challenge. This boy was an enigma, first yelling at me as I simply tried to relate, now asking me to be a challenge for him in this fight. I sucked in a breath and turned to face him, my deadpan expression matching his.

"You better believe I'm going to use a _hundred percent_ of my power to kick your ass, candy cane"

* * *

 **A/N: Whew, this thing was a beast to write with all the fight scenes good GOD. I struggle with writing action, so I hope I did okay? I hope you enjoyed it, I promise I will try to update again sooner, it really depends on how school is for me. But I haven't given up on this story, it has been so therapeutic to write it and it's amazing to me that so many of you have enjoyed it. Till next time!**

 **~Vic**


	9. Of Broken Bones and Recovery Kisses

**A/N: HOLY HELL IT'S BEEN MORE THAN A MONTH. I'm sorry for such a long delay but nursing school really is trying to kill me, it has been nonstop since the semester has started, but I've been working on bits and pieces of this story and finally finished this chapter! I am so excited to share it with you, the sports festival finally comes to end in this chapter.**

 **I cannot beleive that this story is at 74 follows and 45 faves, I am astounded at the response to this story. It keeps me motivated to continue going. Thank you to everyone who has faved/followed or left a review! I love reading them and do try to respond to them all! It's so sweet and I appreciate it so much.**

 **I also have some exciting news! After much deliberation I finally decided to cross post this** _Archive of Our Own!_ **Same author name, same story name. Come give it some kudos over there!**

 **And some more news! I now have a tumblr dedicated to this story!** **www dot tumblr dot com / blog / thespacebetweenstarsfic . I have some (awful) sketches of Hikari's hero costume and plan on posting about where I'm at with chapter updates. Also come yell at me and ask me anything over there!**

 **Without further ado! Here's the chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks, it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

 **Nine: Of Broken Bones and Recovery Kisses**

* * *

I stalked my way through the halls trying to calm my annoyance, Todoroki was acting like a stuck-up brat with daddy issues out the ass and it wasn't fair for him to take it out on everyone else in the class. Like how he trapped Sero in a literal glacier. I hadn't seen the fight against Midoriya but if he had fought hard enough to break his hand and arm it must have been something.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and rounded the corner, finding Iida and Ochaco outside of Recovery Girl's temporary office, both looking incredibly worried. Ochaco looked up at me and waved me over.

"Hey, what's wrong?", I asked.

"Deku has to have surgery to fix his arm", Ochaco murmured.

Anger flushed through my gut, "Todoroki broke his arm badly enough that he needs surgery? How did Midnight let that happen!"

Ochaco shook her head furiously.

"No, Midoriya did that to himself. Midoriya actually pushed Todoroki hard enough that he used his flames to fight", Iida supplied.

My eyes widened in surprise. Todoroki never used his flames to fight in training. The most I had seen was him heating up the air to melt his own ice. Not even a tiny flame had been seen from the duel quirk boy. I had seen his father brooding on the other side of the arena, and how Todoroki had tensed as he told me how he had been created for the soul purpose of becoming the next number one hero. Aizawa's testament to how unattractive the flame hero's personality put the nail in the coffin, their relationship wasn't good. How Midoriya pushed him to actually flame up and use all of his power was a mystery.

"Wow", was all I got out.

"I know! Your guys' fight was also amazing! Hikari I can't believe how good you are at hand to hand combat!", Ochaco gushed.

I gave her a small smile, Iida looking a little upset still. Ochaco didn't seem to notice as she just continued to beam at me, all smiles and wide brown eyes.

"You'll have to teach me sometime, yeah?", She asked leaning forward.

"Uh, sure! You can always come by my dads gym sometime", I mumbled.

"We should go back to watch, we must support our classmates!", Iida added.

The three of us began walking away from Recovery Girl's office when Iida's phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID.

"Ah, it is my mother. No doubt calling about our fight, I'll catch up with you guys", He smiled.

We waved and headed back towards our class balcony.

Sadsadsahgdsa

We caught the tail end of Tokoyami and Mina's fight, she had unfortunately lost, meaning I was the only girl advancing to the semifinals. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow seemed unstoppable, knocking everyone out of bounds. I still had to pay him back for knocking me into the gorge during the race earlier.

"Bakugo and Kirshima are up next, who do you think will win?", Kaminari asked me, munching on popcorn.

I shrugged, "I think it'll be close. Bakugo is the better fighter but Kirishima has the best defense against Bakugo's quirk. I'll be catching it from under the stadium though"

"Oh, don't leave me all alone up here", Kaminari joked.

I rolled my eyes in response, "I have another fight to go win, you'll be fine Pikachu"

The blonde pouted and made puppy dog eyes at me, still upset for losing so early in the final round.

"You've got it cut out for you, especially since Todoroki used his flames in the last one. You should've seen it, Cementoss pulled up several walls of concrete in between the two of them and they smashed through it all like it was nothing"

"So I've heard. I can melt his ice and I'm a little more flame retardant than the average person, so I can do it"

Kaminari grinned and gave me a thumbs up. The other girls called after me, encouraging me to win for them all. I only nodded in response, this fight was the one I was the most nervous for.  
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Bakugo struggled against Kirishima at first, his hardening truly a good counter for the explosions he threw his way. But Bakugo was ever resilient, finding that Kirishima couldn't hold it forever, and he hit his physical limit before the blonde did.

Midnight gave some commentary about Bakugo as he walked off the stage. The volatile blonde would be moving on to the semifinals as well, facing off against Tokoyami. I could end up fighting him in the final if I could get past Todoroki.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, a reminder that I needed to hand that off to Cemetoss before heading into the ring, I've destroyed enough screens in my life as is. I pulled it out, a new text from Toshio. I clicked into it, a selfie of him, Kazuo tucked under his arm. A bunch of kids from the gym including Yuki, sticking his tongue out, was all the way in the back standing on the couch.

'You're doing amazing Hi-chan! We're all so proud of you!' was the text message underneath. I grinned at it, warmth glowing in my chest from their praise. These people were the ones I was going to become a hero for, to help protect one day.

"Are you ready, Miss Hikari?", Cementoss called.

I nodded and offered my phone to him, he took it and tucked it safely away in a pocket.

"Let's go out then"

* * *

The arena was the loudest I had heard so far as I walked to the arena. I distantly heard my name being shouted, the crowd already having favorites for this match. The betting pool was probably incredibly interesting right now. I ascended the stairs up, walking past the flames raging at the edges and into the ring. Dual colored hair greeted me from the other side, his body tense and perfectly straight.

I stopped and placed my hands behind my back, working to clear my mind of everything but the opponent in front of me. My strict focus had been something hard learned from the years I trained with my father, the other coaches, and of course Aizawa.

 _"You're letting yourself get distracted Hikari", Aizawa rumbled._

 _I growled and lunged forward again, attempting to land a blow on him, he easily jumping out of the way and knocking me over. I growled as I rolled over and got to my feet, hands immediately up again. My dad and Yuki were on opposite sides of the boxing ring, both being incredibly obnoxious, my dad doing his impressions of the other instructors (and failing) and Yuki clapping out some rhythm and chanting._

 _"How am I supposed to focus when they're yelling like a bunch of monkeys?", I ground out._

 _"You have to focus. Block everything else out. Whether you're competing at a tournament or fighting a villain you must maintain focus on your opponent. There could be civillians nearby that could be a distraction as fight. You must take in all your surroundings and prioritize them. You've learned how to read people pretty well, but it's for nothing if you can't focus on them", Aizawa droned._

 _Aizawa shot forward, spinning into a sweeping kick to try and knock me over again. I jumped and immediately responded by throwing my knee into his chest as he was coming up. It wasn't enough to knock him over, but it did cause him to stumble back. I lunged and threw a high kick that only just made contact with his torso. His hand shot out and grabbed my ankle, yanking it sideways and sending me into the floor, I groaned on the way down. I looked up to see Aizawa smirking._

 _"Better. Again"_

"Ladies and Gentlemen get ready for one of the most intense fights of the day yet! Todoroki Shouto and Arai Hikari!", Present Mic boomed through the speakers.

The crowd roared back at him in response, but it all felt distant as I stared down the boy in front of me. He had been favoring large scale attacks from far away today, trying to end matches quickly. But I had seen him throw attacks at close range in training before, and it looked just as brutal. This was going to be a hard match, especially since he had been pissing me off all day.

I narrowed my eyes, ears going deaf to any of the noise in the arena until a loud 'start' was called.

Todoroki planted both feet in a wide stance, ice immediately shooting out from his right foot, the crackle of the ice all I could focus on. I lifted both hands in response to the glacier coming my way, hands going blindingly bright. I let the stars expand out further and further before shooting them at the wall, causing it to shatter on impact.

Ice shards flew around me, glittering like prisms in the light. I could hear his next attack of ice already forming before the air cleared from the first one. I ran towards it this time, heat pulsing through my legs. I jumped to meet the ice, throwing a kick backed with a star to break it.

I landed and fell into a low crouch, looking up at Todoroki who hadn't moved an inch since the match began. His right side was shimmering slightly from the frost that was starting to collect. The idiot wasn't using his left side to regulate his temperature. I stood hastily and glared at him.

"So, you demand that I bring my absolute best to this fight, I promise you that I'll fight with everything I've got, and you're _half assing me now_?", I shouted.

Todoroki grimaced at me, his right-hand twitching.

"I will not use my left side—"

"Bullshit!", I interrupted.

I threw my hand up and blasted stars at him, tiny balls of burning gas careening towards him, stopping only because of the ice he threw up with his hand. Rainbows glinted around him, his right hand still held aloft.

"I didn't see your fight with Midoriya, but I sure did hear about it. How you flamed on at the end, sending him careening out of the ring from the force of it. You don't get to ask for my all and then come in here and with only half of what you can do. It's disrespectful and you look like an idiot", I spat out.

Blue and grey eyes narrowed at me, his breath visible as exhaled.

"Midoriya gave me a lot I must think about. I will not become my father. Just because I am not using my fire does not mean I am not taking this seriously", He hissed out at me.

I let out a grunt of frustration and brought my fists up sharply, assuming the classic boxing position.

"Come show me how serious you're being then, icy hot!"

I was trying to goad him into coming closer to the center of the ring, I didn't want to be so close to the line with how easily he's thrown people out. He grimaced at me but began to take slow steps forward.

"Somehow she's managed to get Todoroki to move! This is the first time we've seen him step so far into the ring!", Came Mic's voice from somewhere.

Todoroki took one more step forward, stomping his right foot on the ground. I was ready for another large wall of ice to come shooting at me, but it didn't come. It was merely an icy path, racing straight along the ground and began creeping up my boots. I hurriedly lit up my feet, melting the path directly under me. Todoroki raced forward on the ice, his boots allowing him to run.

He was right on top of me, throwing a frost covered hand at me. I blocked it, hand glowing and knocked it aside, bringing my knee up to hit him. Todoroki hooked his right hand under my knee, yanking up as he hit my shoulder to send me on my back. I grinned as I fell, rolling into it, and brought my knees to my chest, blasting stars out of both feet.

I rolled over my shoulder to get back on my knees, bracing a hand on the ground. Todoroki had managed to get out of the way and was standing back, ice covering his right side, the left side of his uniform signed from the attack.

"Forgot I can attack from anywhere, huh?", I scolded, clicking my tongue.

Todoroki frowned, exhaling hard, breath steaming out like an angry dragon. He only waited a moment, rushing forward to meet me in an attack again. I swept my leg out at him, he easily jumped to dodge it, bringing up his leg and kicking me in the chest. I felt the air leave my lungs, one hand flying up to clutch at my sternum.

Icy fingers brushed the ground in front of me, hand flying up to the sky, dragging up ice behind them. Cold burned across my exposed forearms as the glacier formed around me, chilling to the center of my bones. I glared at him as my arms and feet lit up melting the ice as it formed, but it continued to come. My chest ached from his but I finally sucked in a deep breath and shattered the ice, falling forward and stood up gasping.

The crowd roared as I fixed my eyes on the boy who was only a few feet away. Todoroki met with a glare as cold as the wall of ice behind me, it minimizing the space left in the ring. I could only go forward.

"I'm bringing my all just like you asked, Todoroki"

His hands clenched and unclenched by his sides as he looked me over. I could see the gears in his head turning, trying to figure out how to beat me. He was all cold calculation and determination. My heart thrummed in my chest, right under where I could feel the bruise already forming. I stretched up on my toes, ready to spring forward to meet him.

"I will not fight you with my fire", He shouted.

"What, am I not _worthy_ like Midoriya?"

I clenched my fists tighter and lunged, throwing a punch towards his right side, his icy hand coming up to meet me, but I drew back and threw a kick into his left ribcage. He stumbled to the side from the impact but threw his own kick at me despite it.

"You look down on others, you haven't cared to even _try_ and interact with anyone in the class!" I shouted back as we traded blows.

Todoroki's jaw clenched as he continued to punch and kick, missing most but landing some. I blocked a kick with my left forearm, his right foot covered in ice cutting into the exposed skin, blood spurting out and dripping on the ground.

"You're a fool if you think that just observing me at school lets you have any idea about anything. I don't look down on anyone!", he ground out, his expression strained.

I met an icy fist with a starry hand, gripping tightly and glaring at him. My other hand shot out to block his left hand from hitting me.

"I'm pretty good at observing and figuring things out", I hissed holding on to both his arms.

He pushed back against me, cold breath brushing against my face.

"That's not it!"

"Then explain it!"

"I don't want to be my fathers son! This quirk might be mine, but I will always be reminded where it came from!", Todoroki cried.

He ripped his arms out of my grasp, taking a step back so I couldn't grab at him again. I stood still, mouth slightly open from his confession. He was trying to reign in his expression but couldn't mask the pain in his eyes. His body trembled, and it wasn't from the self-inflicted frostbite.

I bit down on my lip. The fear in his voice pierced into my soul, resonating with the anger that I held for my own biological parents. It was something I pushed down and away but had been festering since I was old enough to understand the situation surrounding my adoption. It was something I would carry for the rest of my life.

This fight wasn't just about proving himself to his father, giving Endeavour a big middle finger by not using the fire quirk passed along to him. There was some kind of trauma underlying this, he didn't want to hurt others with the flames that had been hurting him his whole life. Todoroki wasn't looking down on his classmates, he was just trying to keep himself safe by not getting involved.

I met Todoroki's gaze, eyes blown wide from the adrenaline, his breaths coming in short puffs, floating halos around his head. I clenched my fists before throwing my arms wide.

"You are more than what happened to you!"

Todoroki's upset expression changed to one of shock, mouth hanging open.

"You'll move past him. It might take a month or year or even ten years, but you will move on. You will be able to use your fire and be a hero because of them!", I cried out to him, hoping he feels in his soul what I felt in mine.

I offered my hand towards him, a smile on my face, "Lets finish this fight, okay?"

Cerulean and Pewter eyes stared at me, the ghost of a smile on his lips. Hands raised, and he gave a quick nod. I grinned, hands lighting up to shoot stars out at him.

Todoroki seemed like a whole other person, energy renewed, the scowl gone and replaced with a look of sheer determination.

He rushed forward to meet me again, I ran two steps before shooting up, aiming to go over his shoulder to try and get behind him like I had with Iida. I rotated as I flew over him, reaching out to try and grab at his uniform to anchor myself so he couldn't get away.

Todoroki's right hand shot up faster than I was ready for and fisted into my jacket near the shoulder. I began to panic as ice shot up his arm, the cold spreading across my torso. Freezing midair would not make for a decent landing. So, I did the only thing I could think of.

I lit my whole torso up to burn the jacket away.

I stumbled as my feet hit the ground, breath heaving from exertion. Todoroki turned, dropping part of my smoldering gym jacket to the ground. The whole jack was gone, only the sleeves singed and falling down my arms still on me. I shook them off and was left in only my fire-retardant sports bra.

I could hear the crowd again, roaring at what had just happened. Destroying clothes was apparently a theme this year.

"In order to escape Todoroki and his ice Arai burned away her uniform! Man, the school really should make these things more durable, don't you think?", Mic boomed.

Todoroki looked a little surprised that I had burnt my gym jacket off, I only shrugged at him in response. He accepted it as an answer and shot ice forward from his foot. I leaped away, trying to avoid the ice. It was on his third barrage that I realized how far back I was on this side of the ring now, he was trying to drive me out.

I flew up to try and gain some ground, only to smack straight into a wall of ice, sending me sprawling to the ground. I landed hard on my side, seeing stars as I rolled over trying to get my bearings. Todoroki didn't give me the chance, having appeared on the other side of the wall I had just smacked into. I staggered to my feet as his fingers grazed the ground, throwing his hand up.

I was sent flying up and back as the ice grew up from under my feet, turning into a giant spire. I was flying faster than I can get myself going on my own, legs flailing to try and straighten out, which I finally accomplished. Just in time for my back to hit the wall of the stadium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen Todoroki has managed to knock Arai out of bounds! This has been the most intense fight yet! Clothes were destroyed, and it looks like the north pole in the ring right now!", Mic screamed into the microphone.

"Todoroki did a good job of knocking her off balance first before sending her airborne, a good choice since she can fly and redirect herself back to the ring. There seemed to be some intense words exchanged during the fight, similar to his fight with Midoriya earlier", Aizawa added.

I had slid down to the ground, my whole body flooded with pain from hitting the wall. I had let the damn boy get the best of me this time. Cementoss came running over from the sidelines worry all over his face.

"Miss Hikari, can you move at all?"

It took too much effort and a lot of curse words but I managed to sit up. Cementoss carefully helping me up, a large hand ready to catch me if I fell.

"We can get the stretcher to take you to recovery girl", He said quietly.

I shook my head, sending stars across my vision.

"No way, I'm walking out of here. Might've been thrown out, but I gotta walk out with my head held high"

Cementoss sighed, "All you hero course kids are so stubborn"

I gave a grin as I clutched my side, "You aren't wrong"

The crowd was screaming, chanting for Todoroki and yelling praise my way for taking on the kid of the number two hero. Todoroki descended the stairs quickly and strode over to us. His face was solemn, but not dead and expressionless like before.

"Do you need help getting to Recovery Girl?", he asked quietly.

I opened my mouth to protest but Cementoss cut me off with a slight glare. I sighed and only nodded and began to walk forward gingerly to the tunnel. Todoroki hovered right behind me as we walked into the hallway to get back inside.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to send you so far", Todoroki said after a moment. "You're a very formidable opponent"

"Thanks. And s'all good, just hurts like a bitch", I shrugged, hissing from the movement.

"Here"

Todoroki placed his fingers against my bare shoulder, spreading a light covering of frost across my back, numbing the throbbing in my back.

"Aahh, that's nice", I sighed.

"I figured that one out early on", He mumbled behind me.

I turned slowly to face him and frowned. The evidence against Endeavour only continued to add up. I had two wonderful, loving fathers. I couldn't imagine having someone who raised me hurt me like that.

"I'm sorry that you've had to endure that. But you've come so far and you're incredibly strong".

Todoroki stared at his shoes, looking almost embarrassed and slightly upset. I turned back around and began walking again.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Unless you ask me to"

He started walking after me again, footsteps clicking against the concrete from the spikes on his shoes. I swear I heard him whisper a 'thanks', just loud enough to hear.

* * *

Recovery Girl's lips retracted from my forehead, the pain in my back and forearm swept out of my body and replaced with a feeling only to be described as running a whole marathon on no sleep.

"This is my least favorite time of year! They let you all get so reckless and I end up treating stupid injuries that could have been avoided", she huffed handing me a glass of water.

I knocked it back realizing how thirsty I was, the rest of my senses coming back to me with the adrenaline leaving my system. I stretched out on the cot, the disappointment finally sinking in that I had lost. I took in a shuttering breath.

"Hikari are you alright?"

"Fine", I lied through a sob.

"Dear, I'm too old to not know when someone is lying to me" Recovery Girl quipped back.

I laughed as tears escaped my eyes at last, furiously rubbing them away.

"I'm just disappointed. I wanted to win. To prove myself. Girls don't come in first in anything in the Hero department very often", I lamented.

Recovery Girl sighed and swiveled in her chair.

"Hikari. You're only fifteen years old. I know how much you want to be a hero, and yes UA fast tracks you to be a hero, not needing to go to university for hero studies. But you've got time. You have your whole career ahead of you to prove how good you are. Not to mention you easily stood out the most of all the girls in your class, besides maybe Ochaco", Recovery Girl soothed.

I sniffled and rubbed my eyes. I knew she was right, I just have had such high standards for myself since getting accepted. Not to mention that the whole world knew I was family to a pro hero now, so there would be more expectations on me.

"Besides, I think big things will be coming your way", She said in a sing song voice.

I sniffled a little but smiled all the same.

"Thanks, Recovery Girl"

* * *

With the amount of time I had spent in the infirmary I had missed Bakugo's fight, but Tokoyami had lost meaning the two of us had tied for third. It was Bakugo versus Todoroki for the final match of the sports festival. My muscles slightly sore but more comparable to a hard day of weight lifting, not like I had been slammed into a concrete wall.

I forlornly sucked down an iced coffee I had bought from a vendor booth and fell in the seat next to Midoriya and put my feet up on the railing. The freckled boy looked spooked, as if he had seen a ghost. I nudged him with my elbow and he jumped.

"You good dude?", I asked as I slunk further down into my seat.

"U-uh yeah! Just had some really weird conversations today is all", he stuttered out. "Your fight against Todoroki was something else! Your quirk is so versatile in it's application, you'll have to tell me more about it and what you can do! I had no idea you could make super nova's out of your stars!"

I grinned glumly, "Yeah it's something I've been learning to do recently. It's really hard because I have to focus so much in order to apply enough pressure inwards on the star to make it collapse. That's why I attacked Iida physically after that, it's exhausting. Not to mention if I put out too much I'll get blisters and it looks like my skin has been sunburned"

"Oh that isn't good! At least you aren't breaking bones"

I laughed, "You're right. My skin is more resistant to heat and fire, especially my own stars, but quirks have a physical limit. I'll tell you more sometime if you tell me what you did to Todoroki"

I glanced sideways, and his face had gone slightly pink, waving his hands back and forth.

"I didn't do anything, really! He just looked like he needed help"

I slurped loudly on my coffee, "Whatever you say dude. Anyway, where's Iida?"

"He got a call from his parents and had to leave suddenly, there was a family emergency", Ochaco called, sitting down the Midoriya.

"I hope everything is alright. He's about to miss one hell of a match", I replied.

Kaminari and Kirishima leaned over my seat on either side, the blonde making a grab for my coffee. I poked his hand with a glowing finger and he drew back his hand quickly.

"Ask next time you dim lightbulb", I stuck out my tongue.

"Your fight against Todoroki was so intense Hikari! I can't believe you actually got him to walk into the ring like that!", Kirishima bellowed munching on popcorn.

"No kidding, it was almost scary! You're going to have so many pros interested you", Kaminari added.

"I guess, I still couldn't beat him though", I shrugged. "I'll just have to train harder and kick his ass next time"

"He just caught you off guard! If he hadn't been able to his you with that ice wall to send you off balance you could've gotten him", Kiri offered his popcorn to me, I threw a few pieces into my mouth.

"Who do you think'll win?", Ochaco asked.

"Todoroki for sure man! He's so strong", Kaminari answered.

"No way dude, Bakugo is so stubborn he can't lose", Kirishima replied.

The two began arguing back and forth behind me as they sat back in their seats. I straightened up and put my feet on the ground to look at the boy next to me. He was pulling on his lip and muttering to himself.

"What do you think Deku?", Ochaco asked brightly.

He jumped slightly again, looking a little startled.

"Oh, uh, I mean Todoroki is super strong, especially if he uses his fire again. But Kacchan strives to be the best in everything. He's worked incredibly hard at his quirk since he got it. I know he'll bring his all to this fight. It's hard to say for certain"

I hummed in agreement at his reply. The two boys both had things to prove here, Bakugo wanting to live up to his promise of winning at the start of all this, and Todoroki trying to rebel against his father. I felt nervous despite just sitting here in the stands watching. This showdown would be something to behold but I wasn't sure if it would be for the better.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our final match of the day deciding the winner of the first year sports festival!", Mic boomed.

The arena roared, my classmates cheering around me. I gripped hard the seat under me and leaned forward to stare down to the ring. The two boys approached on either side, striding forward into the ring. Bakugo's face was cast up on one screen, smirking as he stretched his arms. Todoroki looked as impassive as ever. I'd have to ask him how he managed that so perfectly.

"We have Todoroki Shouto, whose made an impressive showing with both of his quirks today! Versus his own classmate! Bakugo Katsuki! Begin!"

I stood to lean over the railing, hands clamped down tight as Todoroki bent forward unleashing the largest barrage of ice I had seen today. He wanted to try and end this quickly.

Bakugo threw explosions faster than I had ever seen, the ice forming around him but not trapping. He quickly burst through on the other, launching himself out of the mountain behind him. The blonde flew through the air setting off an explosion to change his course over his opponent, grabbing him by the shoulder and throwing him exactly as I had attempted to do a match ago.

Todoroki flipped through the air, catching himself on his ice and _surfing it_ back around the side of the ring. Bakugo didn't hesitate for a second, launching himself straight at him on the glacier wave, Todoroki reached out and grabbed Bakugo with his left hand. I could see Endeavour's flames flare up on the other side of the arena in anticipation.

Todoroki threw Bakugo instead, jumping back as if he was the one that had almost been burned. Bakugo skidded along the ground coming to a stop, the close up on his face showed a rage that would terrify most. But I knew it was because he felt looked down upon in this moment. Bakugo began shouting at Todoroki, his words not reaching anyone but him.

Todoroki looked lost in the incoming storm that was Bakugo. I hit the banister in frustration. There was sudden movement next to me as Midoriya flew to his feet.

"Don't give up Todoroki! Do your best!", He screamed down at the ring.

"Come on!", I yelled after him.

Todoroki visibly jumped but his left side lit up, fire circling around him. Bakugo's hands crackled in anticipation, launching himself forward in a spiral. The blonde spun faster and faster as he approached, building up a tornado.

"He's creating a small tornado—", Midoriya exclaimed.

"To build up oxygen to fuel a larger explosion!", I cut him off.

My gaze locked in on Todoroki, fire dancing up his arm in the wind Bakguo had created. Right before impact, his hand fell, fire going out with it.

The stadium rocked with the strength of the explosion Bakugo had created, the giant wall of ice shattering, the cracking noise only reminiscent to a car crash. Hot wind rushed up the stands, I threw my arms around Midoriya to keep us both standing as we swayed from it.

The smoke began to clear, and a camera zoomed in. Todoroki was knocked out cold against the side of the arena, ice in chunks around him. And there was Bakugo gripping the front of his jacked and shouting, the look in his eye verging on hysterical.

"No", I whispered.

"Kacchan!", Midoriya cried, shrugging out of my grasp to lean over the balcony.

Midnight had approached, using her quirk to put him to sleep. The volatile boy fell forward, collapsing onto the ice in front of him.

"Todoroki is out of bounds…that means Bakugo is the winner!", Midnight announced.

The arena nearly shook with the screams from the audience, but the class 1-A booth was dead silent.

* * *

I stood next to Tokoyami as All Might leaned forward placing one of two third place medals around his neck and giving him a hug to congratulate him. I bowed next, the ribbon sliding over my hair and weighing heavily against my chest. All Might hugged me, his form overtaking me completely.

"You did amazing Miss Arai, I'm so proud to see you show everyone the girls are just as tough as boys", He praised me.

I gave him a practiced smile in return and nodded my thanks. He moved over to the second-place podium with Todoroki atop it, frown on his face.

"A shame we can't fight to settle who should be in fourth", Tokoyami said casually.

I gave him a halfhearted smirk, "We both know I'd win"

Dark Shadow burst forward to stick its tongue out at me, "Maybe, but we're not sorry for pushing you into the gorge"

I rolled my eyes and turned to face the first-place podium next to me. Bakugo was absent from it. Until it opened up and lifted him up from underneath, the blonde bound with a muzzle over his mouth. I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming on live TV in protest at this.

I turned my eyes to the commentator booth, knowing that despite it being incredibly far away, Aizawa would get my message of anger. I turned back when Bakugo shouted at All Might saying he didn't want the medal because he didn't really win. All Might forced it over his head, the blonde gripping it in his teeth. Someone announced us as the winners and that the festival was finally over.

* * *

I stewed in my seat in the back of the classroom as Aizawa addressed us from the front, looking as ragged as ever under all those bandages. Yamada-sensei wasn't too far off calling him mummy man.

Today had gone terribly. I hadn't gone as far as I wanted, but I had made a decent showing of my capabilities. Todoroki had revealed a secret to me, well I mostly figured it out, but he confirmed it, that his father was a piece of shit. Bakugo shook with anger in the front, medal still clenched between his teeth. And to top it all off the class rep was still gone.

"Rest up the next two days, we have a lot of training to do still", Aizawa droned.

"Yes sir"

I rummaged through my bag, pretending to take some time packing it up until everyone filed out, everyone doing their damnedest to avoid him as he stomped out of the room. The last to leave shut the door behind them with a quiet click. I set my eyes on Aizawa, anger bubbling in my gut again.

"I understand that Bakugo was out of control, but wouldn't it have been better to just keep him off the podium during the award ceremony instead of chaining him up like a lunatic? Does the school not care how that makes him look?", " I slammed my hands on the desk to emphasize my point.

"Hikari—"

"I get why he's mad, Todoroki didn't face him with his full power. I get it. But icy hot is working though some shit, and is rebelling against his douche of a father, he's not ready to use his flames yet—"

" _Hiakri",_ he emphasized.

My jaw snapped shut, I hadn't realized that I had started crying. My uncle sighed and walked to the back of the room, pulling a desk chair out to sit next to me.

"Listen. The school messed up on that part. It wasn't well thought out and he should've been left off, saying that Midnight's quirk wasn't wearing off. Recovery Girl is even more furious than you don't worry. But some bad things happened during the festival. There was another attack", He spoke softly.

"Stain?", I asked quietly.

"Yes. He has help now as well. Two other villains. Inferno and Silhouette. They're the two villains that escaped from prison a while ago, taking advantage of the USJ incident. They've been undetected until now, but they absolutely have started to work with the hero killer. They were in Hosu today"

I stared at Aizawa, searching his dark eyes. Was it someone he knew that had been attacked? The pained look in his eye said yes. I opened my mouth to ask, but he answered me early.

"It was Ingenium, Hikari", He murmured.

Ingenium was the turbo hero, known for his speed and having 40 some sidekicks working under him. He was very personable to the public, and well-loved because his family had been in the pro hero scene for years—

"Holy shit, Iida!", I exclaimed standing up suddenly. "Is he okay?"

"Calm down Hikari. He was gravely injured but he is alive. Iida received the call from his mother and left to go support his family. Don't bother him about this when he gets back, I'm only telling you because it'll be on the news soon and I need you to be careful. You're all going to be doing internships in a week and I need you to understand how grave this situation is"

Aizawa's dark eyes looked exhausted, the strain of this all weighing in him. I could tell he was frowning underneath the bandages. There was something else going on here too. Aizawa hadn't looked this troubled in a long time.

"Did you know the other villains? Inferno and Silhouette?", I asked.

I could've sworn his eye twitched. He shifted in his seat.

"No, they were taken into custody when I was still in high school. I did spend my first few years rounding up and capturing a lot of their lackeys since they had worked predominantly underground. They had only been exposed and caught because one of their goons figured out exactly what they were working on and turned them in because he was so disturbed", Aizawa said plainly.

"What did they do?"

He shook his head and stood, "That parts classified. Come on, your dads cooked a whole feast to celebrate your first sports fest, we shouldn't keep them waiting"

I stood reluctantly and swung my bag over my shoulder. Something was wrong about this whole situation. I'd just have to be careful with so much going on.

* * *

Despite the fact that we had been advised to rest on the days off after the sports fest I was in the gym, much to the protests of my dads. I had too many thoughts swirling inside my head. From Todoroki basically confirming that Endeavour had abused him to Aizawa giving me a bunch of information about Hosu that he didn't need to, not to mention the firestorm that is Bakugo Katsuki after placing first. Dealing with that come Monday would be a nightmare.

I faced one end of the matted area near the front of the gym. I had warmed up and spent a long time stretching and pushing flexibility. I wanted to do some tumbling today to get even more comfortable in the air. Todoroki had been faster than me while I flew over him so I had to get better so that wouldn't happen again.

I ran and threw myself into the pass, doing two backhand springs into a double back tuck, landing with a small bounce.

"You need to keep your arms closer to your ears"

I snapped my head toward the door, where none other than Bakugo himself stood with a gym bag thrown over his shoulder and a scowl on his face.

"How the hell are you even here?", I asked incredulously.

"It's called a damn google search dipshit. Not hard to find a place if you know last names", he growled at me.

I stared at him still not comprehending that he was actually here, and that he searched the internet just to find the place.

"Why are you here?"

"Tch. To train, obviously. We're in a gym aren't we?"

The blonde walked to the check in counter to pay a drop-in fee and then stalked over to where I was still standing on the mat. He wore black joggers and a black muscle tank with expensive looking sneakers adorning his feet. Who knew the hot head had a fashion sense.

He threw his bag down in one of the cubbies nearby stood next to me by the mat, swinging his arms to warm them up.

"You'll get a better rotation if you keep your noodle arms closer to your ears"

I exhaled sharply, "I do not have noodle arms. And what do you even know about tumbling anyway?"

He rolled his red eyes before running forward, doing three backhand springs faster than I'd ever been able to and landing the double back tuck without a wobble. He smirked at me from the other end of the mat before stomping back over.

"Told you star eyes, I'm the best. At everything"

It was my turn to roll my eyes. I simply shook my head, of course he would be able to tumble and do it better.

"Do it again. With three backhand springs this time"

Forty-five minutes later and too many tumbling passes to count I had managed to get my backhand springs up to speed but I had started to fall on the landing due to the exhaustion. I finally collapsed on my back breathing heavily. Bakugo was an absolute slave driver. I could hear him scoff but he sat down nearby without yelling at me. We stayed like that for a moment, my breathes the only noise between the two of us. Bakugo finally broke the silence.

"It should have been you that I fought in the end, you would've given me your all in a fight"

I turned my head to look at him, his ruby eyes fixed on shoes, fingers pulling at the laces. He had a frown on his face but it was different than his usual scowl.

"I lost to Todoroki fair and square"

"Tch. Only because he almost knocked you out. Damn bastard didn't use his flames for anyone but that shitty nerd. This win means _nothing_ " he spat venom lacing every word.

I sighed and dragged a hand down my face. I wouldn't tell him about Todoroki and the shit he had to work through before he could really fight with his flames. That it wasn't because Midoriya was any better than he was, Midoriya just managed to get under his skin and inspire him in the moment.

"So, he didn't use his flames? So what?"

"So, this shitty win doesn't count!", Bakugo barked looking up at me.

"It doesn't matter, you stubborn ass", I huffed sitting up, "That's a reflection on him, not you. Train harder, get better. Kick his ass again. No reason being pissed about something you can't change"

Bakugo only scowled at me in response, clicking his tongue and looking away. I groaned and got up to get a drink, leaving the time bomb to sulk. I stomped over to the water fountain finding Yuki there filling his water bottle. He grinned at me despite my glare.

"What's got your compression shorts in twist Hi-chan?"

I pushed him out of the way to bend over and get a drink, earning a huff.

"King of explosions is being a little bitch", I muttered.

"Who?", Yuki asked.

I gestured to said blonde. Yuki looked to where I was pointing only to stare back at me with his mouth open.

"What isn't that they psycho kid who won the sports festival? What is he doing here!", Yuki exclaimed.

"Don't shout!", I hissed.

"Sorry", he whispered back.

"He isn't a psycho, and he's here to train. We're classmates"

Yuki looked at me like I had said the sky was yellow and the grass was pink.

"The psycho is your classmate?"

"I just said—and he isn't a psycho! He's just mad that his opponent didn't give his all and fight with both quirks. He has really high standards for _everything_ "

"If he has such high standards why is he hanging out with you—oof!"

I punched him hard enough in the stomach to just hurt.

"Why are all boys so stupid?", I wondered aloud.

I walked away from Yuki before he could try and reply, heading back to the mats and the angry boy. I was going to land that stupid double back now and figure out what to do about all the idiots in my life later.

* * *

I was in my seat tapping my pen against my desk waiting for class to start. I hadn't gotten any closer to figuring out what to do with the information Aizawa had given me after the sports fest regarding the most recent hero killer attack. Everyone seemed more an edge than usual, including my parents. Kazuo had snapped at me after I had gotten home from training for "leaving a pile of clothes on the floor", it was only my gym uniform and sneakers left out. Toshio was tense as I talked to him at the gym and Aizawa hadn't made any appearances the entire weekend. That made me worry the most considering how hurt he still was. I sighed and rested my chin into the hand that wasn't busy trying to hit a hole through my desk.

"Arai, can you stop tapping?", A soft voice asked.

I froze and turned to look at Todoroki, his dual chromatic eyes gazing at me. He looked exhausted, bags beginning to form under his eyes and his shoulders were slouched. I dropped the pen and clasped my fingers together to keep from tapping them next.

"Oh! Sorry Todoroki, I didn't mean to bother you. I just get fidgety"

"It's okay", came his quiet reply.

He turned back to face the front once again. That was easily the most I had ever heard him speak in class, besides when he was answering a question. I turned my own eyes to the clock, Aizawa would be late soon if he didn't hurry.

"Good morning"

Aizawa had slide open the door and walked through, looking haggard as usual but was bandage free. A crescent shaped scar sat under his eye, pink and jagged. That was where I had staunched the bleeding with Mineta's cape.

"Aizawa-sensei you look much better!", Tsu called.

"Yeah, the old lady went a little crazy. Anyways class, we have an incredibly important class today regarding hero informatics"

Most of the class had tensed up, I sighed fearing a pop quiz that he was about to spring on us. Of course he would do something like this right after the sports festival. No rest for the wicked it would seem.

"You need code names. You'll be picking your hero identities today"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Until next time lovelies!**

 **~Vic**


	10. The Constellation Hero

**A/N: Woo hoo it's only been like two weeks since I last updated! Much better than a whole month and a half, haha. Thank you all so much for the follows and favorites, it makes my heart so happy! Leave a review to tell me what you think! I love hearing from you all!**

 **We finally get to know Hikari's hero name and I am so excited to finally share this with you. I did so much research for this chapter, from greek mythology to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu moves, it has been a _ride_. I'll save most of my comments for the end so I don't spoil anything.**

 **But as a quick statement, if you know someone is being abused (whether that be by a parent, sibling, significant other, ect.) please, please, _PLEASE_ tell someone and get them help. Don't leave them to suffer by themselves and don't keep it to yourself. **

**Anyways, on to the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks, it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

 **Ten: The Constellation Hero**

* * *

Most of the class erupted into cheers at the news. I twirled my pen as my stomach flip flopped. Hero names were something incredibly important, it was how you presented yourself to the world. It embodied what you stood for and the legacy you'd leave behind. This was something I'd thought about for years once I got my quirk, only really thinking of a good after a trip out to my grandparents with my dads to the country side. They insisted that the fresh air was good for a growing nine-year-old and that I'd be able to really see the stars. That was what convinced me to stop pouting about it.

Midnight had appeared through the door and Aizawa had zipped himself up to sleep against the wall. Exhausted as usual, and no creativity as always. Midnight explained the importance to us, as if most of us didn't know, and passed out cards and marker to write down our names. She would have final approval over them after all.

Yao-Momo handed me the card and marker, I mumbled thanks and smoothed the card down against my desk. I heard some people writing furiously already, others tapping their marker against the desk. I took in a deep breath and uncapped my marker, starting to draw the constellation from memory.

 _I was huddled between Toshio and Kazuo, a giant quilt bundled around the three of us. I gazed up at the sky, mouth hanging open. Living in a city we could barely see the stars from all the light pollution, and I longed for them as if the ones in the sky came from my own skin._

 _The night sky was lit up, stars everywhere. Kazuo was pointing out constellations that he knew after growing up out here and seeing them every night. Toshio held my hot chocolate, it having been long forgotten in my awe of the heavens after the sun had finally set._

 _"You see this large one, Hi-chan?", Kazuo asked, tracing his finger against the sky._

 _"Yeah! It looks like a person!"_

 _"Good eye, Hi-chan. It is a person. That's the constellation Andromeda, named for the Greek myth of Andromeda. She was the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, and Princess of Ethiopia. One day her mother boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than Poseidon's Nereids. This was a great insult to the god of the sea, and he would not stand for it without proper retribution"_

 _"What did he do?", I asked anxiously._

 _"Poseidon demanded retribution be made for the insult to his Nereids. He declared the only way for Cepehus and Cassiopeia to be forgiven would be for them to sacrifice Andromeda to Cetus, a terrifying sea monster", Kazuo wagged his fingers dramatically._

 _"No way!", I cried._

 _"Yes way", Toshio interjected._

 _"Hey, I'm telling the story here Toshi", Kazuo whined._

 _"Sorry dear, go ahead"_

 _Kazuo took a deep breath and looked up at the sky again, pointing out Pisces, and then dragging his finger over the sea monster Cetus._

 _"Andromeda was chained to a rock out at sea and Cetus was approaching to devour her. But the hero Perseus was flying overhead when he saw Andromeda. He swooped down and killed Cetus, saving her from her fate"_

 _"Why is it always men that get to be the hero?", I asked sighing._

 _"This was long ago Hi-chan. Not to mention Andromeda wouldn't have been able to save herself from the monster since she was chained up", Kazuo explained._

 _"I would've found a way to still fight!", I exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air._

 _"I know, my love. But Andromeda went on to marry Perseus, and is the ancestor of the Persians. She was still a brilliant queen. Despite her mother putting her in a terrible situation she succeeded in life. When she died she became a star, like her mother"_

 _Kazuo pointed to Cassiopeia next. I hummed and leaned into him, the chill from the air biting into my skin a little._

 _"Do you think I'll become a star one day too?", I asked through a yawn._

 _"Absolutely, Hi-chan", Toshio cooed, leaning onto Kazuo's head above me._

 _"Do you know what Andromeda means, Hi-chan?", Kazuo asked._

 _"Uh uh"_

 _"There's two. The first is 'persistence'. The second is 'ruler of men'"_

I had carefully constructed Andromeda in the right-hand corner of my card, drawing a little swirl near the right hip to mark the Andromeda galaxy. In my best handwriting possible I wrote it all out in English. I stared down at my card and smiled, it was finally going to happen.

"All right who wants to come share!", Midnight exclaimed gleefully.

The class sat in an awkward silence, no one wanting to share their names. Unsurprisingly Aoyama was the first to approach the teachers podium, gleam in his eyes as usual.

"Brace yourselves….the shinning hero: I cannot stop twinkling!", The blonde exclaimed loudly.

We sat there for a moment looking at him. He couldn't be serious, could he? Midnight took him as serious and had him shorten it but allowed it. This was insane, it was a whole sentence even shortened. Mina went next, declaring herself "Alien Queen", which hilariously was shot down. Midnight always had been an eccentric thinker.

Tsu saved us all from the awkwardness of the first two, becoming Froppy. A name as adorable as she looked. I smiled at Kirishima as he named himself after Crimson Riot, he waved at me enthusiastically as he headed back to his seat. Midnight loved it.

One by one my classmates christened themselves with their new names, Mina's new one getting approved by Midnight on her second go round. Todoroki named himself by his first name, Shouto. Others came up with more creative names, playing off of words. My grip tightened on my card, I was so nervous to share, I had kept this close to my heart for so long. All was going well sparky went up to share.

"King Explosion Murder"

"No way, it's too violent. Try again", Midnight scolded.

"What? Why!", the blonde yelled back.

"Why don't you be explosion boy!", Kiri called jokingly.

"Oi, shut up shitty hair!"

I sighed and slouched into my seat, how he thought that would fly was beyond me. I watched as he stomped back to his seat, furiously scribbling at the card again. I gripped at my card nervously as Ochako and Iida went next. I didn't look up until I heard a gasp from the room. I glanced up to find Midoriya up there, his card displaying 'Deku'.

"Dude are you sure?", Kaminari asked skeptically.

"This has to be it. Someone taught me that it could be looked at in a different way. That it could mean something good", the freckled boy explained.

I could practically see Ochako glowing from across the room. She had always called him Deku since hearing Bakugo call him by the insult. Why he had allowed her to continue was beyond me, but it was inspiring to hear that he was turning an insult into something better.

"Arai?", Midnight called.

"Oh, right!"

I stood and carefully made my way up to the front, stepping over my uncles outstretched legs as I stood behind the podium. Nineteen pairs of eyes stared at me, Bakugo still glaring at his own card.

"The Constellation Hero", I declared, turning the card around. "Andromeda"

"That's absolutely lovely! Just like the Greek myth?", Midnight asked.

"And the galaxy, which is what this is", I pointed at the swirl.

"I think it's perfectly fitting! Why this one though?"

"The story of it is near to my heart, my dad told it to me one night while we looked up at the stars. The name means 'persistence', which is what is needed of a hero in order to succeed. She also became an amazing queen despite her circumstances"

"The other meaning for Andromeda is 'ruler of men'", Yao-Momo spoke up.

Bakugo's red eyes snapped up from his card to look at me, some of the other boys in the class giving me uneasy looks. I smiled back at them.

"Yes. It is"

I heard a hum from Aizawa as I stepped over him again, his eyes both still shut, but a grin on his face. I hurried back to my seat waiting to see what Bakguo gave us this time around. He had been thinking about this longer than any of us, how he couldn't come up with a better name was beyond me.

"Lord Explosion Murder!"

" _No_ "

* * *

The whole classroom was abuzz with stress during lunch, everyone who hadn't received offers going through the list of forty who had promised to take interns regardless of the sports fest results. I flipped through the stack of papers of offers that had been sent to me. I had received a few more than Tokoyami despite the fact that we had tied for third, much to his annoyance.

I stuffed another bite of rice and nori into my mouth, scanning down the third page haphazardly. There were too many offices to look into in two days, I'd have to ask for Aizawa's opinion. My eyes landed on the last office of the page, causing me to choke. I sputtered wildly and grabbed for my water bottle to try and clear my throat.

"Hikari? Are you alright?", Yao-Momo asked anxiously, turning in her seat.

I coughed again, thumping my palm against my chest and nodded.

"Sorry! I just saw something that surprised me was all"

"Well, be careful. We don't want you to hurt yourself!", She replied.

I nodded furiously and picked up the sheet to look at it closer to make sure I had read the name correctly. I looked the line over twice more before deciding I wasn't losing my mind from the exhaustion and I was in fact still capable of reading.

In bold letters, as if he had bribed the print office to make sure it came out that way, it glared up at me.

Endeavor Hero Agency.

The Flame Hero. Whose son had admitted to me that he was terrified of becoming, who had been abused, who felt the pressure to succeed. The shitty guy who had yelled at his son mid fight, true colors bleeding through on live TV, not that he had ever been warm and friendly to the public, wanted me to come and intern with him.

I stood quickly, quelling the fire burning in my chest, and took the few steps over to Todoroki's desk, standing in front of his desk gripping the sheet like it was the trash fire himself. Todoroki looked up at me from his own papers, looking almost bored. His dichromatic eyes looked me over, frowning when he saw the grimace on my face.

"Why would Endeavor want someone who fought his son to intern for him?"

I had tried to keep my voice down, but the surprise and anger at the man made me fail at that. Some heads turning to look at me.

"Ah, he went through with it?", Todoroki muttered, taking the sheet from me.

"Woah! Hikari, the number two hero sent you an offer?", Ochako exclaimed.

A whole group that had congregated around Midoriya turned around to look at me. Bakugo had whipped around in his seat, glaring through them at me before spinning back around just as fast.

"That's crazy, you've got to go!", Ojiro added.

The entire gaggle of them looked at me in awe, except for Midoriya. His wide eyes looked upset, watching the boy behind me. Green eyes found my own, the small frown on his giving everything away. He knew about Endeavor too.

"Well, I mean, I have to look through them all. There's so many! I want to make sure I go somewhere that's a good fit for me", I replied quickly, waving a hand around like it was no big deal (It was).

"Hikari's right you have to take everything into account, the location, their specialty, image to the public—"

Midoriya had gone off on another muttering tangent, those closest to him shifted their attention to it. I wasn't sure if he had gotten into it on purpose to distract everyone away from the topic, but I was grateful nonetheless for it. I grabbed the chair from Tokoyami's desk and scooted into Todoroki's desk. I gripped at my skirt, willing my voice to be quieter.

"He talked to you about it?", I whispered.

"Yes. He think's your power would make a good addition to his own, both in his agency and through me", he muttered back, glaring daggers at the paper in front of him.

"Through you?"

"A quirk marriage. Like my mother", he nearly growled.

" _Oh_ "

My face flushed red at what he had just said. His father was trying to _collect me,_ and use my quirk to combine with Todoroki's two to give him some insanely power grandchildren. Not only were quirk marriages incredibly illegal the thought of being goaded into a marriage arrangement at fifteen made my head spin. He was worse than I thought he was.

"Don't worry, I won't let him get his hands on you. Just burn of the bottom of that sheet and forget you even saw his name. I'll remind him during the internship that he can't buy everyone and everything he wants", the duel quirk boy ground out.

"Wait, you're interning with him?", I asked incredulously.

He shuffled uncomfortably in his seat under my stare, running a hand through his hair.

"I have to learn to control my fire. I hate him, but he knows how it works better than anyone. He's number two for a reason, I should learn what I can from him"

I took the paper back from Todoroki, glaring down at it. I had an overwhelming urge to burn the entire sheet. But…Todoroki faced his father all the time at home, already training so intensely, I couldn't imagine what the flame hero would do if he was allowed free reign in a public setting too.

"Well, I guess I am too"

Todoroki made a strangled noise, hiding it with a cough, glaring at me behind his arm.

"I just told you that he wants you for your power, you should stay far away from him", he hissed.

"Yeah, and he made you for your powers. I can't leave you alone with him, if he's as awful as he is to the public I can't imagine what he's like behind closed doors. Maybe he won't be as terrible if I'm there"

"That is a horrible idea"

"Do you have a better one?"

A fleeting scowl crossed his features.

"Why would you do that for me? We aren't friends, I barely know you", Todoroki shot back coolly.

I sighed and set the page down in my lap, leveling my gaze at him.

"As heroes were supposed to help people, and your situation seems like it could use some help"

His eye brows scrunched together, both fists clenched on his desk. His whole body was ridged, stuck between fight and flight, unsure of what to make of the situation presented to him. I could see the gears turning in his head as he thought this through.

"Okay"

* * *

News traveled quickly, and everyone seemed to know I had been sent an offer from Endeavor. I could feel eyes on me from the other side of the room during class, darting over to stare at me, others turning almost entirely around to look. It was driving me up a wall, my skin felt prickly all over. It had been like that until we were dismissed to change into our gym uniforms for physical training, where I was ambushed by the girls.

"Hikari you are going to intern with Endeavor, right? I made it pretty far but didn't get any offers! Do it for me!", Mina exclaimed pulling her shirt on over her head.

"It is incredibly impressive that you received an offer from the number two hero, probably the highest-ranking offer in the class, along with Todoroki", Yao-Momo added.

I stayed silent as I dressed and listened to them chatter at me. I yanked on my sneakers a little too forcefully and tugged tight on the laces. I didn't want this to be a big deal, mostly for Todoroki's sake, but I hated all the attention from this. I slid the jacket on not bothering to zip it, I didn't like working out in lots of layers of clothes.

"It's very pragmatic, their quirks are comparable", Tsu ribbited.

"It's not a bid deal guys", I mumbled as I swept my hair up into a messy bun.

"Not a big deal? You got the most offers of any girls in the class, you tied for third in the sports festival, and the number two hero wants you? It's kind of a big deal", Jirou huffed.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, "It's just an internship. It won't be anything that crazy and it's not even a lifelong commitment"

I could feel heat rise to my face at the last part, Todoroki telling me about his father wanting me to marry him to give the hero overpowered grandkids had been playing in my head on repeat.

"Are you going because of Todoroki?", Tsu asked.

I was definitely blushing now if I hadn't been before. I shook my head.

"No way! He's so strong, I'm curious how he trained. His dad has a lot he can teach"

"Oooh! Hikari likes Todoroki!", Mina crowed, throwing her arms around me.

"That isn't it", I insisted.

I knew anything I tried to say wouldn't change her mind, she had moved over to Hagakure and was busy squealing with her in the corner. I rolled my eyes this time. As annoying as it was to have them think I liked the red-and-white-haired boy, it was better than them all finding out about Todoroki's secret. I sighed and headed out to the gym, needing the physical exercise as a stress relief.

"Listen up. You'll be leaving for your internships on Monday, taking your costumes with you. Do _not_ embarrass yourself while in them. You're representing us all", Aizawa glared across us all.

"Now. After observing the sports festival and getting to see how you handled real fights, I've decided to push up some of the quirkless combat training. Some of you rely too much on your quirk alone to do all the work"

His dark eyes settled on a few near the front, Kaminari fidgeting under his stare. His eyes also flicked to Todoroki.

"You never know what might happen. If you were to go up against someone like me who specializes in hand to hand and can erase your quirk you would be in a lot of trouble. Some of you just need more physical training because your quirk is damaging. Count of by twos, you'll pair up and do some light sparring for now while I come around and make corrections. We'll rotate you all through, so you'll face everyone. One of you will get a rest turn since we're uneven. Go ahead"

We counted off, me being the extra one at first, and paired up claiming different parts of the matted floor. I settled into a split to stretch out while watching my classmates. Some looked incredibly unsure as they turned to face their partner. Others like Todoroki and Bakugo looked like they belonged in a fighting stance. It was interesting that Aizawa was just letting us loose without setting any specific goals in mind. I wondered if most of these kids even knew how to throw a proper punch.

Watching Midoriya slam the grape headed freak into the floor (while incredibly satisfying) proved me right that a lot of them had no combat experience with just their hands. The freckled boy was apologizing profusely as Mineta was laying dazed on the ground.

My eyes found Bakugo and Ojiro, circling around each other. Ojiro was trying his best to make good on the no quirks rule, keeping his tail tucked close to his back. Bakugo's hands twitched, wishing to blow up. Ojiro threw a few punches to test the waters, form impeccable. Bakugo dodged the first, and ducked under the second. The blonde gripped his arm and planted his feet between Ojrio's legs, throwing him over his shoulder and into the ground.

Ojiro made a loud oof sound but rolled up to face him again. He also had experience in martial arts, but it was hard to physically match Bakugo. He'd spent his whole life training for this.

Aizawa walked over to me, hands stuffed in his pockets, chin ducked into his capture weapon. I patted the ground next to me. He rolled his eyes, but I sat cross legged anyways.

"Ojisan, a good chunk of these kids don't even know how to throw a punch right"

Aizawa hummed in agreement, "I know. This was more of an assessment to see wher everyone is at skill wise. There's going to be a few who I recommend taking martial arts or boxing, even if it's just the basics"

I rotated into a side split, "Some of them might become rescue focused heroes, but you have to be able to take care of yourself"

We watched Mina throwing her hands at Sato, who looked entirely unbothered as her fists made contact. He looked a little reluctant to try hitting her back, even if this was just sparring. Hagakure and Jirou looked a little lost, both throwing light punches at the other. Both with horrendous guard of their torso and head.

"Shouldn't be demonstrating something to them? It hurts to see so many of them look so lost"

Aizawa let out an exaggerated sigh and stood, offering me a hand up. I probably just talked my way into being his punching dummy for the rest of the lesson.

"Stop! We'll have you rotate in a moment, but first I want to demonstrate some things. Some of you have terrible form with throwing just simple jabs. I know some of you have very limited experience with combat, so we'll start with how to throw a punch"

Twenty pairs of eyes turned to look at us, I could hear Bakugo's scoff as everyone began to wander closer to us. Aizawa looked at me and held up one of his hands, the other back in his pocket. His posture was slouched as his tired eyes looked at me.

"Hikari's going to throw a punch at my hand. Watch her form"

I lined up in basic guard, exhaling hard as my hand hit against his hand.

"See how she puts her whole body behind the hook? You can't just use your arms to punch, you have to put everything into it. You also have two hands. Everyone wants to go for the big right hook, and it does have more power, but your other hand is close to your opponent. You can strike faster and they won't see it coming"

He nodded and I jabbed fast with my left hand, hitting perfectly against his open palm.

"If you learn nothing else today, remember this. When you punch, do _not_ tuck your thumbs in. You'll break them that way"

"Yes sir"

"Rotate"

I moved to the next pair, taking Tokoyami's place against Kirishima. The red head smiled cheekily at me.

"I don't wanna hurt you Hikari", he joked.

"Oh, come on Kiri, I'm bored from stretching!"

"Alright, Aright!"

I insisted we bow to each other, proper respect for your partner when learning, and I slid into a lazy guard curious to see what he would do. He wasted no time, stepping in to try and hit me. I quickly knocked his hands away and grabbed his jacket by his shoulders. I was hoping to goad him into grappling.

It worked, his own hands coming up to push against my chest to get me to let go. I immediately slid my right hand down his sleeves, fisting tightly into it to maintain control over his arms. I stepped and in and pulled up, sweeping my leg under him to throw him over my hip. I kept control of the one arm and placed my knee lightly into his ribs.

"Okay, okay!", he tapped against the floor.

I let go and stepped back smiling at him. He sat up looking rather ruffled.

"The hell was that?", he asked.

"A harai goshi. It's a hip sweep"

Kirishima stood and rubbed the side that had smacked the matt, making exaggerated puppy dog eyes at me.

"You're going to hurt me Hikari"

I snorted in response and rolled my eyes, "Don't be such a baby"

"I'll stop if you teach me that!"

"Have you ever grappled before?", I side eyed him.

"Well, no. But with such a great teacher I don't see why I can't learn this move now!"

"Sucking up much? And fine, but I can't teach you on yourself, you have to see it so we'd need another person"

"We wanna learn too!", Kaminari threw out.

He stood across from Sero, the pair grinning wildly at me.

"If it means I can throw Kaminari around some more I will"

"You're so mean!", the blonde pouted.

"I know, now c'mere"

The two of them came closer to join Kirishma. I started walking them through the stances and where to grab their opponent, both if they had sleeves or not. Finally, I pulled Kirishima in, stepping from square to triangle, and showing them when to pull up and throw their leg.

I threw Kirishima again, eliciting a groan as he hit the matt. I then threw Kaminari, which was considerably easier since he's a couple centimeters short than me, to show Kirishima.

"Yep, hurts as much as the last time", he wheezed from the floor.

I yanked him to his feet, "At least you didn't fry yourself this time, phone charger"

"You've thrown us a bunch of times! Throw Sero and his big elbows!", Kiri complained loudly.

"Woah dude! I don't wanna be tossed around like you two—oof"

I darted in faster than he was expecting and swept him over and onto the mat with a thud. Kaminari and Kirishima laughed hysterically behind me.

"Dude she got you good!", Kaminari chuckled.

"You say that like she didn't just throw you around like you were a sack of flour!", he shot back.

"You're not screwing around, now are you?", Aizawa asked ominously behind us all.

The boys turned quickly, yelling no sir in unison.

"I was teaching them how to do a harai goshi. I pulled one on Kirishima and they were all curious to see how it worked", I cut in, trying to save them all.

"Ah. In that case Hikari come here. Let's show them your favorite throw"

The trio of boys cheered as I groaned, this could only be one thing.

I squared up across from him, hands up as I eye him. He smirked lazily at me. I stepped in to throw a punch, tensing myself up for the oncoming throw. Aizawa's nimble hands gripped near my elbow and collar as he turned in and pulled, throwing me over his back and smacking me into the mat.

I groaned at the impact. He never went full out with me, but man that one fucking stung.

"That was crazy!", Kaminari yelled.

"Are you okay Hikari?", Kiri asked crouching near me.

"Fine", I groaned sitting up. "Damn Eri Seoi Nage"

Aizawa grinned, "Damn Eri seoi nage"

* * *

"Hikari, you were just complaining yesterday about how much you hated him"

"Yes, we'll he is the number two hero he can teach me a lot. You said yourself I need to step more into the spot light and this is a good chance to do that"

"Yes, but I figured you'd pick someone who was a good hero with decent standing, not number two"

Aizawa sat at his desk in the teacher office, my internship form in his hands, looking more exasperated than usual. He was still healing even though he had all of his bandages removed and I was worried throwing me might have hurt him. He heaved a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"Did something happen with Todoroki?", he asked.

"No. And I don't have a crush on him either since the girls keep asking that"

I felt bad lying but it wasn't my place to tell when I didn't even know what was going on. I knew he needed help and telling an adult would be a step in the right direction, but I had promised him. And that was the whole real reason for going to Endeavor Hero Agency anyway, to help Todoroki.

"Did I hear that Hikari has a crush?", Kayama-Sensei exclaimed from across the room.

"REALLY?", Yamada-sensei crowed.

"NO!"

I threw my hands up before running a hand down my face.

"How do you deal with them?"

"I don't sometimes", he deadpanned.

"Shoutaaaaa, you love us", Yamada whined.

He pointedly ignored the blonde as he looked back at me, "You're sure about this, Hikari? You want to make sure this is your most logical choice, upperclassmen end up regretting their choice pretty often"

"I'm positive Oji-san"

"Alright then"

He signed along the bottom of the page, setting it on top of the two others already turned in to him. I caught a glance of the one underneath mine, Iida had already decided too. I made a mental note to ask him how he was doing the next time I saw him.

* * *

We had to arrive early Monday morning to retrieve our hero costumes as well as receive another lecture from Aizawa about proper behavior. I had my duffle bag thrown over my shoulder, stuffed full of extra training clothes and toiletries, as well as a bag of cookies made from scratch I made with Toshio over the weekend at his insistence to bring something as thanks. I had half a mind to toss it out the train window.

Aizawa walked us all to the train station to ensure we all got onto the right ones to get where we needed to go. Bakugo fumed next to me, gripping the case that held his costume in one hand and his bag high on his shoulder. He had been uncharacteristically quiet in class through the days leading up to this but his scowl never wavered.

"I can't believe this is happening!", Kiri babbled excitedly. "Fourth Kind is so manly!"

"Is that the only adjective you know, shitty hair?", Bakugo grumbled.

"Of course not, but it is the best one to describe him sparky man!"

"Tch."

I was surprised that he didn't spit out more insults at Kiri's vocabulary like he usually did. I sighed as Kirishima continued to talk on about what he knew about the agency, making me think of an over excited puppy.

"It's strange that we're all going to be out of class for a whole week and away from each other", I commented.

"I know, it'll be strange being apart after everything for a while. Oh, I have an idea!"

Bakugo mumbled something to himself about it being dumb.

"What, Kiri?"

"We gotta exchange numbers! I don't have everyone's in the class yet!"

Bakugo grunted, "Why would I want your stupid number?"

"Because we're friends and we can tell each other all about our internships as it happens!"

"That's fucking lame, I don't want your number!"

"Oh come on Bakubro!"

"Don't call me that!", he spat.

I smiled, that looked more like our resident explodey boy.

"That's a great idea Kirishima! Here"

I took out my phone and offered it to the redhead. He grinned and snatched it up, typing his number in and adding him to my contact list. He offered it back to me and I glanced at the new contact. He had named himself Red Riot with the red balloon emoji next to his name. I grinned.

"I texted myself so I have yours"

"Perfect"

I brandished the phone at Bakugo who only sneered at it in response. I pushed it into his chest and pouted hoping that he'd cave and take it willingly. He scoffed but took it anyways, typing furiously before tossing it back to me.

"Don't dick around and text me all the time at the internship. It'll be annoying"

"Wouldn't dream of it!", Kirishima sang.

Bakugo glanced up at the board stating train arrivals and departures. He must've found his as he turned and began walking away without saying goodbye.

"Have fun with Best Jeanist!", I called after him.

I got a middle finger in response.

"I better go find my train, good luck with Endeavor!"

Kirishima waved as he ran off to the other end of the platform. I waved back and scanned over the crowd of remaining students to find a particular head of white and red hair to catch our train. I found him next to Aizawa, bland expression on his face. I headed over to them.

"Hey! Ready to go Todoroki?", I asked trying to hide the anxiety in my voice.

He nodded. The only thing he had on him was his hero costume case, gigantic 15 across the front of it.

"You better both behave while you're gone", Aizawa said looking at us both.

"Oh come on, we'll stay out of trouble just fine, we've got nothing on your other problem children!"

His eyes glanced at me for a moment before looking back at Todoroki. It clicked that he meant behave in other ways too. I blushed slightly and glared at him. Todoroki seemed to pick up on the underlying threat if he tried anything.

"Oji-san, we're going to be working or training or sleeping the whole time. It's _fine_ ", I hissed the last part at him.

"Text me when you get there"

"Yes sir"

We headed for our train, my grip tightening on the case in my hands. Damn uncle trying to be all protective and shit. The car wasn't too full and we were able to find two seats together near the door. I placed the case under my feet and shrugged my duffle off and into my lap. I leaned my head back against the glass, I was exhausted from having to get here as early as we did today.

"It's a bit of a ride out but we'll be much closer to the agency building", Todoroki said quietly.

I looked at him, suspicious of his lack of bags. I had a feeling I knew where we'd be staying for the week.

"Where are we staying by the way?"

He paused, looking straight ahead out the opposite window as the train took off.

"You'll be staying with us at the house, there's more than enough guest rooms in the place"

"Oh, I'm staying at your house. Are you sure we're not friends?"

Todoroki only side eyed me in response.

* * *

Calling the Todoroki residence a house was a gross understatement.

The _house_ was gigantic, beautifully crafted wood behind a high fence and gated off from the public. It was beautiful traditional architecture; my dads would freak to see a place like this in person. Next to the gate on the fence sat a placard with their last name on it, bold characters proclaiming the power that lived here. I tried not to look star struck at it all.

I followed behind Todoroki, he punched in a code at the gate and it buzzed swinging open to let us in. The front of the house had a well-maintained garden leading up to the door, trees and bushes carefully trimmed. The thought of the flame hero gardening flitted through my mind causing me to giggle.

"What?", Todoroki asked in front of me.

"Oh, nothing! I'm just admiring how nice the grounds are. It's beautiful."

"Yes, well. My father does pay a lot to keep things tidy. The Gardner and the maid are the two that are here the most often now, besides the cook I suppose"

I tried not to roll my eyes at how nonchalantly he had said that and walked through the front door behind him. We slipped our shoes off and I wandered after him. The inside of the house was as beautifully crafted as the outside of the house, expensive looking art adorning the walls, house plants near windows. Not a single picture of the family in sight.

I glanced down both hallways, leading off to who knows where. Straight ahead lead into a sitting room with a low table and cushions surrounding it, one wall a o. A sliding screen door was slightly cracked, revealing a grassy court yard and letting in a slight breeze to the airy room.

"Shouto, you're back! And this must be Arai Hikari"

A girl with choppy white hair with red streaked throughout came around the corner, a warm smile on her face. She was dressed casually in brown pants and a white button up, glasses adorning her face.

"My name is Todoroki Fuyumi, Shouto's older sister", she bowed.

I bowed deeply in response, "It's a pleasure to meet you Todoroki-san"

She laughed as she stood, "Please, call me Fuyumi. I'm so glad one of Shouto's friends is here during the internship"

"She's just from class", Todoroki monotonously said, heading over to the table to set his costume case down.

"Shouto, don't be rude!", Fuyumi scolded.

He only shrugged as he opened the other screen door, "Tea?"

"Oh, yes please! And thank you Fuyumi, I'm excited for the opportunity"

"I'll go let father know that you're here, he'll be out shortly"

Her smile had gone tense, but she turned to leave before I could watch her further. She took a left down the hallway and disappeared into the maze of this house. I headed through the sitting room, glancing out into the court yard. It was just as beautifully maintained as the front, the house stretching on in both directions. Guess I shouldn't be surprised that the number two hero can afford such things.

"I hope green tea is okay, we seem to be out of black", Todoroki called from what I assumed to be the kitchen.

"Whatever is fine!"

I wandered back to the table and sat down, my nerves building as I waited for someone to come back. I couldn't help but wonder that this hadn't been the best choice after all. Maybe I could've helped another way. I fidgeted with my hands in my lap as Todoroki came back through the screen door, tray balanced precariously in one hand. He set it down gently, surprising me by taking the cushion next to me. He took the three tea cups off the tray, setting one across from us, the others to each of us. His hands cradled the teapot gently, pouring first into mine, then his own, and lastly the one for his father.

"I'm starting to get nervous"

Todoroki snorted, "You're only now getting nervous?"

I only shrugged in response. "I'm meeting the number two hero and trying to help a friend be safe, only some pressure"

"We aren't—"

"Friends, yeah I get it. But we could be"

He said nothing in response, his fingers gracing the sides of his cup as he glared into it, as if he was willing the green tea to speak. I sighed.

The sound of sturdy footsteps coming down the hallway could be heard, echoing throughout the empty space. I sat up straighter, adjusting to sit properly on my knees, shaking the hair out of my face.

Todoroki Enji rounded the corner and I felt my stomach drop. He was as large as All Might, but his smile was nothing similar to the number one hero. His firey red hair was spikey atop his head, his beard flaming despite being at home. He wore dark slacks and a blue button up shirt, stretched tight over his arms and chest. His smile was small and practiced, clearly something he didn't do often. But his eyes were the most unnerving part. A striking turquoise, they were cold as ice, all business and ambition.

I stood quickly and stepped around the table, bowing to almost a ninety-degree angle. I wasn't thrilled about showing him so much respect since he had done nothing to deserve it, but I couldn't do anything to help Todoroki if I started out on his bad side.

"It is an honor to be interning with you Endeavor sir"

"The lovely Arai Hikari who nearly bested my Shouto. It is my pleasure to have you here, please come sit!"

His voice was rough and grating, but I smiled at him as I stepped back behind the table and sat down. He took his seat, massive form taking up the entire side of the table alone. He picked the tea cup up, enormous hand dwarfing it.

"When I received your form saying that you had accepted my offer I was quite pleased. Your performance at the sports festival was truly incredible to see, it isn't often that females rise so far up in the rankings, it was a welcome sight to see"

I blew on my tea gently and took a sip, "I wish it would happen more often, sir"

"Please, in my home we use first names. Call me Enji", he said gruffly taking a sip from his cup.

"I can show her the guest room after this, father", Todoroki interjected.

"Yes, I want to make sure you're settled. We have a busy week ahead of us, I'll be showing you the business side at the agency first and then we'll head out into the field. Neither of you are licensed yet but I want you to have the best experiences, as long as you're with me you can use your quirk as needed for hero work. No one will stop you since I gave you the okay"

I couldn't help my grin. Real hero work. "Thank you, Enji-san"

"Now, Hikari, it is okay for me to use your first name, right?"

I nodded in response, I felt like I couldn't say no to that, especially in his own house.

"Perfect. Tell me about your quirk, Hikari? Have you named it yet?"

"Ah, not really. It's stellar manipulation. I'm able to produce stars from anywhere in my skin. I can throw them as weapons, have them float as light, and I'm currently working on condensing them in to create super nova"

A manic looking grin spread across his lips, "That is truly amazing. I am quite interested in it. It's similar to flame type quirks, but just different enough to set you apart. Not to mention you clearly have a background in combat"

"Her father owns a boxing gym", Todoroki cut in, "Her uncle trained there before becoming a pro"

"Ah, yes. I forgot you also have pros in the family as well. How is Eraserhead?"

"He's fine, tired as always though"

Enji let out a hearty laugh, not matching his look at all.

"That seems right. But it is amazing that you have such comprehensive training already. I made sure Shouto also has had combat and quirk training already, but his _fire_ leaves much to be desired still", Endeavor said, jabbing at his son.

Todoroki tensed next to me, hands clenching atop his thighs.

"I'm sure if I had two quirks I'd struggle with being proficient with both already too! Todoroki works really hard in class, I know he'll get better with it", I smiled, trying to diffuse the tension.

Endeavor took another sip, "That is what this week is for. We'll spend some time training physically, I can't wait to see your quirk up close. Hopefully I can help you develop it further this week"

I finished my cup and set it down gingerly, "Me too. I can't wait to see how you teach"

The firey man gave me a smirk before looking at Todoroki.

"Shouto, take Hikari up to the guest room we have prepared for her. Then go ahead and change into your costumes and we'll head over to the agency for the grand tour"

We both nodded and stood, Todoroki swatting my hands away from my duffle bag and costume case. I huffed but turned to bow again before turning my back to pro. He waved a giant hand in response.

"No need to be so formal my dear. I have high hopes of welcoming you into the agency in a few years, and I want you to feel like family", he grinned, white teeth glinting menacingly.

A shiver ran down my spine but kept his stare and smiled, nodding. I turned on my heel and followed Todoroki, trying to keep my pace casual as we both fled from his father. We went down the hall and ascended a flight of stairs, leading to a long hallway with two branching off in either direction. We turned right until we came to another intersection and turned right again. We stopped in front of the door at the very end of the hall. Todoroki gestured for me to open it first.

I turned the handle and the door swung in to reveal a large room, floor covered in tatami mats. A futon was folded crisply and sat in one corner, a small table with a vase of peonies in the center of the room. A door leading to a balcony was straight ahead, natural light flooding in to illuminate the space.

Todoroki set my bags down by the table, whole body still tense from the earlier exchange.

"I told you he wanted to get his hands on your power", he muttered.

"Yeah, but good luck to him. I'm not gunna marry you just cuz he said so. Not to mention my dads can't be bought, it took them too long to adopt a child"

Todoroki's cheeks were just faintly pink as he frowned at me. The thought of marriage was far from anything I wanted in the next ten years and it wasn't fun to think about his father wanting us to create superpower grandchildren for him. But if being here for this week would help Todoroki not suffer as much under his father, I'd do it. He might keep insisting that we aren't friends but I cared about him and his wellbeing.

"We should hurry and change, he doesn't like to be kept waiting. The bathrooms through there", he said as he headed back out into the hall, "Meet you back downstairs"

He clicked the door closed and I let out a huge sigh. This week was going to be a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

* * *

 **A/N: There we are! Nothing crazy like the fighting in the last few, but we finally have our Andromeda!**

 **I decided on that constellation after some research, Andromeda is one of the stories that lead to the whole Princess and the Dragon theme, which will sorta come back into play again later on in the story! Plus I think the name is cool and there is a whole galaxy name after her. Who doesn't want to be named after a galaxy! (I love space).**

 **Second, clearly there is implied/referenced child abuse in this fic. Endeavor isn't the best person. He's done some terrible things and I do not support that at all. But recently in the manga (SPOILERS) he has vowed to do better and wants to make it up to his family. A lot of people still hate him and can't understand how his children can still care about him. As someone who has suffered physical/mental abuse from their father, it is an incredibly complicated relationship. I only speak for myself, but I still care about my dad even after all the shitty stuff he's done. It's a real gray area. So if you hate Endeavor, I get it, but please don't leave all that hate here on my fic.**

 **Third, watching different videos of BJJ and MMA fights are crazy! I put names of throws in the fic so you can look them up and really see them, I hope I did alright describing them! Definitely recommend going to watch some of them just cuz the people are so cool.**

 **Lastly, come yell at me on tumblr! the space between stars .com**

 **Till next time!**

 **~ Vic**

 **P.S. extra points to anyone who knows what peonies stand for**

 **Extra points to anyone who knows what peonies stand for**


	11. A Dangerous Encounter

**A/N: Guys, this story is at 99 follows, I am honestly shook and so grateful to all of you! Especially those that review, it means so much to me and keeps me going! So thank you all very much!**

 **I have nothing else to say before this other than it spiraled out of control and got very long.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA (obviously)**

 **Rating: T (because what fun is it without cursing)**

 **Summary: Genetics determine everything, your face and height, even intellect to an extent. In this world of quirks, it is even more pertinent now. Two villains conducted several experiments in crafting the perfect genes for any quirk. Hikari is the result of those experiments. Follow along as she sets out on a path to become a pro-hero by attending the best hero academy, UA.**

 **Un-betaed so you're bound to find some mistakes.**

* * *

 **Eleven: A Dangerous Encounter**

* * *

We had spent the morning walking through the immense agency building, Todoroki's face blank as always as we trailed behind Endeavor. Todoroki had changed his hero costume, no longer in the all-white-and-ice get up anymore, he wore a dark blue jumpsuit with a new belt and battle vest. His white boots came over from the old costume, cleats clacking against the tiled floor next to me.

We were shown the entire building, top to bottom, the training gym he had in the basement was incredibly impressive, and entirely fire proof. Mats covering the whole floor, two of the walls entirely mirrored so you could check your form, along with weights and other training equipment. He also owned a large chunk of land behind the building, clear out as another space to practice and train. The whole place was professional and expensive looking.

It was uneventful through lunch, some expensive restaurant catered to the agency. It was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten, not that I'd tell Kazuo that since he took such pride in his cooking, but you don't eat five-star food for lunch every day. Finally after eating, and having some time to digest as Endeavor talked about his typical day when he was in the office he brought us outside.

"Shouto, go do your basic drills, we'll start with your fire shortly. I want to focus on Hikari first", Endeavor grinned.

The boy only nodded and retreated to the other side of the open court yard and began running through what looked like kata. Cold blue eyes stared me down, mulling me over as if I was a piece of clay yet to be molded, deciding how to shape it best to suit him. I did my best to smile at him.

"Watching you take on opponents at the festival I have no worry for your combat training. You train quite regularly?", Endeavor looked down my

"Yes, with my father and my uncle. I competed as a boxer in middle school"

"Perfect! We shall focus on your quirk then. May I see it?"

I stretched my hand out towards the man towering over me, heat rolling off his body. I lit my hand up, carefully drawing the star out of my skin until the tiny ball of heat and gas floated above my palm. I pictured hurling it straight at his face.

"Beautiful. Exactly how I imagined stars to look in person. How does it work?", he nearly purred as he bent to examine the star closer.

"It's make up is identical to actual stars, relying on components in the air and my body to interact, as well as a fair amount of energy to generate them. I have to eat a lot to keep up with the metabolic demand. My skin is also fire resistant, both to my own stars and other flames. But if I overuse my quirk my skin starts to blister, and I'll get burns if it goes on for too long"

"And you can use them to propel yourself to fly and throw them as attacks? You also caused one to explode in your fight against the Iida boy"

"Yes, the gas content can propel me. The explosion is a super nova. I can manipulate the stars even when they're apart from my skin, I push in on the mass to cause the star to collapse causing it go super nova like real dying stars"

"Show me", he commanded.

I nodded and floated the star out into the empty part of the field. I reached my hand out, physically straining as I focused on collapsing this one in. It bent and contorted for a moment and I sucked in a breath, closing my hand. It burst in an explosion of white light, heat rushing out over us both. I blinked a few times to let my eyes readjust.

I glanced at the pro hero next to me, his face grinning wickedly at the scorched ground from the blast. He fixed his gaze on me and I froze under his stare.

"That's spectacular. You have a better grip on your quirk than many of those in your class, I can tell you've trained hard. As your mentor for the week it is my job to push you further, the next time you use your quirk in class your classmates won't know what hit them"

Despite his terrifying grin his words were inspiring, I could feel his determination to work with me and increase my ability. His desire to train me was disgustingly selfish, but if he was trying to take advantage of me I was going to take advantage of him and learn everything I can.

So I smiled excitedly back at him, the hear from his body not reaching his cold eyes.

"Teach me everything"

* * *

I was sprawled out sideways on the futon, feet rubbing across the smooth tatami mats sticking out from underneath. I hadn't slept on a futon in a few years, the last time being at Kazuo's parents' house, small but beautifully authentic in construction. We'd have to go out and visit again soon.

It had been a long day, my body ached from the day of training, Endeavor pushing me physically harder than I had ever been previously. His praise was cold like the rest of him and rarely given, but he didn't say anything demeaning to either me or his son. I considered that a win.

I felt my phone buzz and I rolled over to grab it to see the notification. It was a text from Kirishima, he must be done for the day too. I opened it to find a picture of Kirishima and Tetsutetsu looking like mirror images, grinning at the phone.

" _Look who else is here to intern with Fourth Kind!"_

I laughed and quickly typed out a response.

" _You look like two brothers whose mom dressed up similarly for a family party"_

He replied quicker than I expected, _"We do not look that similar! Tetsutetsu is cool and manly!"_

I shook my head at his use of the adjective. I clicked into the thread with Bakugo, the only message being the one I had sent on the train, so he had my own. I typed out another one, finger hovering over the send button. I wanted to see how he was doing but I knew he didn't want to be bothered. I bit my lip and sent it anyway, if anything to annoy him.

" _Today was so long, we toured the agency building and then trained outside. What did you do?"_

I threw my phone behind me on the mattress, not expecting a reply anytime soon. A soft knock came from the door. I rolled off the futon and scrambled to my feet, I wasn't expecting seeing any of the Todoroki family after dinner. I opened the door to Todoroki on the other side of it, tea tray in his hands.

"Hey Todoroki", I smiled.

He only held up the tray in response, I stepped aside to let him into the room. He was dressed casually, plain black tee and gray joggers tucked into his socks. It was strange seeing him like this, even if it was his house. I wasn't even presentable, in an oversized shirt and compression shorts, my hair thrown carelessly up into a bun.

"I was making tea and figured you might want some"

I sat across the low table from him, Todoroki busied himself setting the cups off the tray along with the tea pot, perfectly pouring both cups.

"Thank you"

I took the cup from him gently, blowing on the steam. We stayed like that for a while, sipping in a comfortable silence. I hadn't even been here a day, but the mysterious boy seemed a little more relaxed around me. Less cold.

"Your fire is something to see", I broke the silence.

His posture stiffened, "I still hate using it. But I can't become a better hero if I don't learn to control it"

I could tell that there was a lot of self-loathing and turmoil under the mask he put up, one carefully constructed to deal with his father. After meeting him in person I'd be the same, Endeavor had no time for weakness, not feeling at all was the better approach.

"It's okay to feel that way, you've experienced something traumatic, so it'll be hard to work through it. But I really think you'll become an amazing hero, you're so far ahead of the rest of the class when it comes to your quirk"

His dichromatic eyes widened at me and then quickly looked down at the cup in his hands, thumb tracing the rim.

"I suppose. But you are far ahead of me in other ways. I don't know how to talk to people, or make friends", he murmured.

A frown twitched across my lips. I hadn't been the best at making friends either. Being known as the kid who melted the playground wasn't the best reputation and it scared kids away from me for years.

"I know I've been joking about it…but I would like to be your friend Todoroki"

Todoroki only hummed in response, choosing to sip his tea instead of look at me. I let it be seeing how uncomfortable he looked. We finished our tea and he took the tray, walking briskly out, fleeing from any more conversation, throwing a terse goodnight over his shoulder.

I sighed and stood and turned the light off, moving to crawl under the blanket on the futon. I felt for my phone in the dark to set an alarm for the early morning I was going to have with my classmate and his father. Finding it I picked it up, squinting at the sudden brightness assaulting my eyes. Once they adjusted, I had two text notifications. One from Aizawa saying to keep out of trouble and be respectful to Endeavor. The other was from Bakugo.

" _I got a fucking lecture about my bad attitude and a shitty pair of jeans. You better be kicking that half and half bastards ass."_

I couldn't help my grin as I typed back.

" _I'm learning so much, I'll be kicking your ass when I get back."_

He was typing a reply before I could even click out of the app to set the alarm.

" _You wish star dust."_

* * *

Kurogiri wasn't sure what he hated more, the fact that he had to keep such a close eye on a childish idiot or the childish idiot himself.

Said childish idiot currently had decided to provoke the hero killer after demanding that Kurogiri transport him to the current hide out. The hero killer had managed to slice the both of them, resulting in Kurogiri rendered immobile as the Hero Killer pinned Shigaraki down in front of him. The only saving grace of the whole situation was the woman standing back, looking utterly indifferent.

"Come now Stain, these gentlemen graciously invited us into their establishment because they want our help", she spoke coolly.

"Kidnapping isn't the best way to be asking for assistance. We're lucky that Inferno wasn't caught up in it", the hero killer sneered, still pinning his victim down.

Kurogiri glanced at the woman, her dark blue eyes glinting in the low light. It was no mistake that Inferno had been left behind, the man was a genius and well trusted, but was terrible at lying. The operation to befriend and use the Hero killer to the Leauge's advantage could not be compromised. Such delicate things were best left to his wife, Silhouette. Kurogiri had been thrilled to have another member with such a level head.

"I suppose, but what else could they have done? We are only three people attempting to dismantle the current system of false heroes. They could be of assistance"

Silhouette stepped closer to Stain, dressed in black jeans and a black leather jacket, an extreme to the her pale complexion and long white-blonde hair trailing down her back. She wasn't an incredibly large woman, but the shadows cast behind her twitched in agitation, reminding Kurogiri how terrifying she could be.

"All fakes must be purged, that includes false criminals like him with petty reasons"

The silver blade glinted, approaching the hand covering Shigarki's face. Shadows trailed along the floor, ready to save the Master's chosen successor. But the need to intervene never came, dray hand gripping the blade, destroying it easily.

"Touch this palm and I'll kill you", Shigarki's grated out. "I may not have anything like your fancy conviction, but I have a deep desire to end the symbol of peace and crush those who follow him"

He swung a hand at Stain, who jumped back easily and landed next to Silhouette. Shadows retreated to her as an injured Shigiraki stood.

"I was almost done healing up, you should be more careful. We don't have a healer in our party after all", he scratched at his neck.

"Our goals clearly differ. But I don't think this was in vain after all. We both desire to destroy the present. You clearly do have some conviction after all. I wonder how you'll turn out, if it becomes troublesome I'll simply end you later"

"Clearly someone this mad has no place with us Kurogiri. Get rid of him"

Always the child, demanding that those who didn't get along with him be destroyed. No wonder it was the Master's decision to leave him out of the loop while they tried to get Stain on their side. Kurogiri sighed.

"Please reconsider. We will only be strengthened by someone like this."

Silhouette cut in, "As long as we can destroy the false heroes, reconstruct society. We can work together"

"Return us to Hosu. There are still false heroes we have to take care of"

Kurogiri opened a warp gate, returning him to the same location he had snatched him up from. Silhouette shot them both a toothy grin as the mist slowly swallowed her next.

"Till next time, boys"

* * *

The next morning came too early, sun barely peeking in through the window when I cracked my eyes opened. I rolled out of the futon and forced myself to get dressed, struggling with my hair to sit atop my head the way I needed.

I padded down the hall to find the stairs, only having to turn around once, and made my way downstairs, both Endeavor and Todoroki seated at the table in the dining room, which was a whole other room from the _foyer_ that we had tea in yesterday, a delicious spread awaiting me. I took a seat next to Todoroki and yawned rubbing at my eyes.

"Good morning Hikari", Endeavor rumbled.

"Good Mornin Enji", I cringed as his first name left my mouth.

"We have an exciting day so please eat up. Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes please"

I carefully placed a slice of grilled fish on my plate and spooned out some of the rice as the imposing figure across from me poured the dark liquid into a mug, the smell a welcome and familiar one in the ludicrous environment I had subjected myself to. Todoroki Enji's gigantic arm easily stretched over the table, placing the mug down to my plate with more care than I thought possible of the massive hero.

"This was made from some of my favorite coffee beans, rare and small batch roasted of course. Cream or sugar?"

"No thank you, black is perfect. I don't like overly sweet coffee", I supplied in response, bringing the mug up to my nose. I could smell notes of hazelnut and cocoa.

"We share that! I prefer coffee over tea to be honest, a more robust flavor"

I decided to take a sip and look into the cup so I didn't have to meet his eyes. I got my taste for coffee from my uncle, he lived off the stuff and I quickly picked it up once I was old enough to go out places with friends on my own.

"Are we training more today?", I finally asked.

Todoroki's blank face twitched into a grimace for just a second. Enji didn't seem to notice, intense eyes only focusing on me.

"Something far more exciting. We'll be checking in on the agency first and filing the appropriate paperwork before we go, but then we'll be taking the train to Hosu City"

My eyes widened, the number two hero was fine with taking two high schoolers to try and find an incredibly dangerous murder that was plastered all over the news. Aizawa was going to have a meltdown later.

"You're looking for the hero killer?"

"Surely bringing us along wouldn't be the best idea", Todoroki stated plainly, though he didn't look all that surprised at the announcement.

"You will be perfectly safe with me. We're going to patrol the city, show a strong presence and that no matter where he goes the top heroes will find him and put an end to the hero killing. It will be great experience for you both, I want you both ahead of your classmates. I"

I shifted in my seat, nervous about this whole thing. It likely wasn't entirely legal but he didn't seem to care about the fine print, considering he told us to use our quirks freely. I glanced at Todoroki next to me, looking unphased despite the announcement. I wondered how often his father did things like this.

"Now, finish eating, and we'll be on our way to agency. We have paperwork to sign and sidekicks to breif"

* * *

A stupid amount of paper work and a train ride later we were in Hosu City, Todoroki and I sitting on either side of Endeavor as the police force briefed us on the current status of the investigation. The head detective looked exhausted and incredibly wary that the number two hero had brought two unlicensed interns with him to try chasing down the Hero Killer. Endeavor assured the Chief that they would be under his supervision the entire time and they'd be perfectly safe. He conveniently left out the part where he'd encouraged the use of our quirks if anything were to happen, even though we were unlicensed. His trust in us to defend ourselves was both flattering and terrifying.

"Our department is incredibly grateful that you have come to assist our city in this time of trouble. Since the injury of Ingenium there hasn't been anything. No sightings, no attacks. Crime rate has dramatically fallen, as it has in the other cities he has appeared in. We don't know when he'll attack next, there's no pattern in his past attacks how long he waits before striking again"

"Thank you, detective. We'll be taking our leave to go for lunch before we patrol"

"We'll call if we find anything new"

We stood and bowed before exiting the detective's office, the officers in the hall standing still in awe as Endeavor strode to the exit.

"That's the number two hero! And his son is behind him…who's the girl?", one officer whispered.

"Did you not watch the first year sports festival? She finished third!"

"Wow, and the number two hero asked her to come intern?"

I rolled my eyes as we walked out, one of Endeavor's cars waiting for us on the curb. Endeavor waved the driver away, opening the door himself and standing aside to smile at me.

"After you Hikari"

I climbed into the car, Todoroki following close behind me. The pro had been nothing but kind to me so far, but knowing his ulterior motives kept me on high alert at all times. Todoroki looked at me bland as ever. Our conversation from the night before coming back to me. I wondered if he had thought on it anymore.

Endeavor climbed in and sat across from the two of us, extinguishing all his flames but his beard. He barked at the driver and the car smoothly slid away from the curb and into traffic. He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone went off before he could say it. He scowled and dug around his pockets before pulling the offending device out.

"Endeavor", he answered brusquely.

The volume was low enough that I couldn't hear whoever he was talking to. I turned my attention to Todoroki.

"Do you think we'll find him?", I spoke softly.

"The hero killer? No way", He answered, not bothering to lower his volume. "He's never been sighted between killings before, it's unlikely that we'll just stumble across him"

"I know that…I just have a bad feeling about today. It might just be because he almost killed Iida's brother but…something feels wrong"

Todoroki hummed, "Didn't Iida come to some agency here?"

I furrowed my brows trying to remember. He had finished fourth and with his family connections surely, he had gotten better offers than some small agency here in Hosu, why he'd take it here was strange, unless…

"He was acting off before we all left. Do you think he came out here just because of his brother to…", I trailed off not able to finish the sentence.

Iida was so by the book it hurt sometimes. Even with his brother injured he wouldn't even think of trying anything so illegal to settle a personal vengeance. Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes widened just a fraction.

Aizawa had always taught me to listen to my instincts, that heavy feeling in my stomach when things were about to go wrong was something to be trusted more than other people. We might not find the Hero Killer, but something bad was bound to happen with the class president.

* * *

It wasn't just something bad, it was like hell opened up and decided to unleash its terror on us.

We had been patrolling, nothing being even a smidge out of place in the city. One of Endeavor' sidekicks had joined us, introducing himself as Rumble, his quirk allowing him to manipulate stone and anything with rock in it. The only troublesome thing was the few times Endeavor was stopped for photos, some of the more hero crazy fans recognizing Todoroki and I from the festival. Endeavor was a curt with them all as he was anyone else, his high ranking wasn't attained due to his attitude.

Endeavor was in the middle of explaining some part of patrol when the explosions started. Civilians screamed and went running in the opposite direction, Endeavor barked out orders at Rumble, the sidekick running off to help with the evacuation.

"This is perfect! I'll show you both what it means to be a hero!", Endeavor shouted above the panic.

The pro was running towards the fires, still hidden from the high-rise buildings in front of us, setting the sky aflame with light and smoke, my feet pound against the concrete to keep up with him. He was surprisingly fast for his massive size. It was when we had passed the fifth block that Todoroki run stuttered and came to a stop. I noticed before Endeavor did and slid to look at him. His eyes narrowed while looking at his phone, I could see the gears in his head turning.

"Is now the time to be checking your phone?", I yelled, this was annoying.

"Check yours"

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion but as if it was waiting my phone went off in a pocket in my belt. I ripped it out to check the notification. It was only Midoriya's location, a few blocks from us. What was he doing in Hosu City?

"Andromeda! Shouto! We need to keep going, what are you doing?", Endeavor thundered irritably.

"Midoriya doesn't do cryptid messages, something must be wrong", Todoroki shouted at me, "I'm going"

He turned and started running down where we had come from. I was beginning to panic between seeing him run away, the thought of Iida seeking revenge against his brothers almost killer, and now Midoriya sending his location just blocks away from us. I fumbled with the pocket on my belt, shoving my phone into it, getting ready to take off after him. My leg had only twitched before a massive hand clamped around my upper arm in a vice grip.

"Shouto! The hell are you going!"

"My friend might be in trouble, send any extra pros you see to 4219 Ekou street!", Todoroki shouted over his shoulder.

I pulled against Endeavor, "He can't go by himself!"

"My own son might have gotten away from me but like hell am I letting an unlicensed student run off without my supervision! With me, Andromeda!"

He pulled me around him hard enough just to get me to move in front of him before he let go, I couldn't go running off with him watching me like this. I huffed but started running forward again, the whole explosion situation in front of us needed to be dealt with. Endeavor kept close behind me, clearly ready to grab at me again should I try going after Todoroki again. It was another three blocks before we rounded a corner and found the source of the chaos.

The square was mostly clear of civilians, but a few were still scrambling away. Street lights had been knocked over, cars crashed into each other smoke pouring from one of the engines.

"Stay close", Endeavor growled at me.

He stepped in front of me now as we slowly advanced into the wreckage. My eyes darted back and forth looking for anything. A few bushes were on fire but there wasn't any people I could see.

"What caused all this destruction already? I don't see anyone"

Endeavor was cut off by a scream, the two of us rushing to it. We rounded a car to find a couple trying to get away from the villain, green body crawling on all fours towards them. A hero went streaking by in an orange blur knocking into it causing it to turn around to face us and I gasped.

It looked exactly like the Nomu that almost killed my uncle.

Endeavor wasn't fazed by the monstrosity and shot a blast of fire forward, the beast screaming in pain, the sound sending chills down my spine. I stood rooted to the spot watching as the other hero we stumbled upon smashed it into the sidewalk, concrete shattering under it.

"Andromeda?"

If that thing was a Noumu then that means the league of villains was involved with all this somehow, was the Hero Killer with them? Stain must be out here somewhere in the middle of all this chaos, heroes could be dead already and we wouldn't even know it with this giant distraction of indestructible monsters. Not to mention that my classmates were out there by themselves—

"Hikari!", Endeavor roared.

I jumped as his massive hand landed gently on my shoulder, shaking me slightly from my stupor. I blinked rapidly trying to form a coherent sentence.

"What's wrong child?"

The other hero came waddling over, easily half my height. He looked too old to still be fighting but looked unharmed, not a scratch on his white and orange suit.

"That thing—it looks exactly like the creature the League of Villains brought when they attacked the USJ. They didn't release pictures of it, but it's brain was exposed like that. It almost killed Aizawa", I blurted out.

"That must mean that the League of Villains is here. They must be working with Stain", Endeavor said.

"Woah wait, the Hero Killer is working with the same people who attacked UA?", The older hero asked.

"They must be! Uh, I'm sorry but I don't know you?"

"Gran Torino. I also had a student interning with me but the fool went and ran off! Midoriya's his name, have you seen him?"

"My son is also interning with me but ran off too. He said to send any extra pros to 4210 Ekou street but I have no idea why", Endeavor commented.

"Midoriya sent us all that address! Something has to be wrong for him to not give any information like that", I supplied.

Gran Torino was about to speak but a scream a block over cut him off, he flew away towards to it, wind whipping around us in his wake. Endeavor scowled but started digging through one of his belt pockets, retrieving two small ear pieces. He tossed one to me.

"Stick this in your ear, you just have to hit the button there for it radio mine. Go find the idiots the ran off, _do not_ engage with any villains. Once you find them call and let me know of the situation, I'll send everyone I can that way as soon as I can"

I hooked it over my ear and nodded. The whole situation just kept deteriorating.

"Yes sir."

"And fly, it'll be faster", He threw over his shoulder before running towards more screaming.

I took off in the opposite direction, pulling the map up on my phone. I was several blocks away from where Midoriya had sent. Cursing my legs warmed up and I jumped and flew forward, staying close to the ground, who knew what could come raining down from the sky at this point.

I touched down and too a few running steps before going airborne again, doing what Yuki had excitedly termed moon jumps. I glanced down at my phone again, Midoriya had sent his message more than twenty minutes ago, anything could've happened to them. Looking over the map I saw a shortcut through a back alley that would cut off some distance. I landed rough and ran the few steps to get to it.

The alley was pitch black between here and the exit on the other side and seemingly deserted. I lit my left hand just in my skin and held it aloft, the yellow light illuminating the few feet in front of me. Nothing looked out of the ordinary here but chills ran down my spine.

I started walking forward, deciding not to fly since there was so much trash and I didn't want anything else to catch fire today. I was about half way across sidestepping a broken crate when I heard someone hard land behind me, broken glass crunching under their feet.

I didn't hesitate and whipped around blasting the star in my hand at the figure clad in shadows. The fire ball was true to its mark but the person's form turned black and _shifted out of the way_. I held both hands up, glowing white hot now.

"Who are you", I demanded.

They chuckled, a light and airy laugh, feminine. A woman likely then. They stepped closer, black slithering off their body to the ground and twitching as she moved forward. She wore all black, a leather jacket zipped tight to her body. Blonde hair so pale it almost looked white swayed with her movements, her porcelain features twisted in a smile.

"Stay back!", I shouted, planting my back foot ready to swing it at her.

"Quite an attitude you have there love, don't worry I won't hurt you", there was just a slight accent coloring her Japanese.

She stopped a little more than a foot away, I couldn't touch her from here but a star to the chest would really hurt at this range. Her dark blue eyes looked me up and down as if she was trying to commit every detail in front of her to memory.

I scoffed, "And why should I believe that? You just snuck up on me in alley with the whole city going to shit"

She raised her hands as if in surrender, "I mean it. Though you did illegally attack me"

I flushed with anger and embarrassment. I forced my hands to glow brighter, the light banishing the shadows on her face. This whole interaction didn't feel good.

"What do you want?"

"Only to introduce myself darling, I'm a little disappointed you haven't recognized me yet, though I suppose it is rather dark and you're stressed. I'm Silhouette", she grinned.

I audibly gasped. The very villain that Aizawa had warned me about had somehow turned up right in front of me. The reports of her working alongside with Stain were true then. Between her, Stain, the Noumu, and Shigaraki skulking somewhere, we were so incredibly fucked.

Adrenaline was coursing through my veins causing the blood to roar in my ears, my entire body rigid and high alert. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn and flee, to get the ever-living fuck away from the threat in front of me. She however seemed perfectly calm, relaxing with one hand in her jacket pocket. The shadows I could see around her feet swirled gently.

"That's what I've been dubbed by the public, just rolling with it is easier. My real name is Zilla Mikami. I really don't plan on hurting you dear, just came to give you a heads up. I'm assuming you're running after the little boys trying to take on Stain?"

I could only gape at her. I don't know how she knew that I was trying to track down a bunch of idiotic boys, who of course thanks to the insanity that follows them every which way found Stain. If we all made it out of this alive I was putting them all on a leash so they would trying to get themselves killed.

"I like keeping a close eye on all sides of a situation I'm involved in, don't look so surprise Knowledge is power, you want to have as much as possible, so you can make the best educated next move. Which is why I have some knowledge for you before you go running into fights with the Hero Killer"

"The fuck? Why on earth would you tell me anything? And why would I trust anything you say?"

She smiled, all menacing pearly whites that seemed like they were glowing in the dark.

"The Hero Killer and I have share some ideology when it comes to the mess of a society that we've enabled, namely the grotesque way that heroes are worshiped. True heroes ask for nothing in return but changing society in that aspect is not my highest priority at this point right now while it is his. Not to mention how much attention is on us now, there's a man hunt and I don't plan on being caught up in it"

I narrowed my eyes, fingers twitching, "So what you're just going to turn on your ally?"

"Absolutely", her light voice almost sang. "There are very few I wouldn't drop the moment things go sideways. Now listen up sweetheart, you're wasting time while Stain is attempting to flay your friends into tiny pieces. His quirk is called blood curdle. If he swallows any amount of your blood he can paralyze for a certain amount of time depending on your blood type. He's also unbelievably fast, you aren't going to want to get close, he will absolutely kill you, age doesn't matter to him."

A chill went down my spine. I knew that he was ruthless but knowing that I was going to be able to testify exactly how murderous he is was something terrifying. I took in a deep breath and flexed my fingers, hands still alight and aimed point blank at _Zilla's_ chest. I couldn't turn to run, giving her my back was a terrible idea, but I had to get to Todoroki and the others to help them. And to get the pros here.

"What are you doing girl? I promised I won't hurt you, I only wanted to pass the info on. Go get your friends and get that idiot caught", she scoffed.

She flashed another dangerous smile as the shadows at her feet snaked up her body, melting with her form, she waved a hand at me as if shooing me away. The tendrils had just made it up onto her face, when I scrunched my hands into tights fists and against every instinct beaten into me by father and uncle alike, I turned 180 degrees, booking it out of the alleyway, taking off and shot above the buildings knowing what trouble those idiots had gotten into now.

I landed hard on a rooftop, sprinting to launch myself off the side to take off again. Two more blocks, I can make it.

"Please be okay!"

I hit another roof and jumped down towards the sidewalk, stars slowing my fall. I was only a few alleys away from the one Midoriya had sent his location from. I ran forward again, exhaling hard, I could hear yelling. Then the bright flash of light from the alleyway, that had to be Todoroki.

Time seemed to slow as I crept closer pressing my body against the building, foreboding weighing heavy in my stomach. I glanced around the corner just enough to see the situation.

Iida was sprawled out face down, blood pooling under his arm, what looked like a pro slumped against the wall. Todoroki's left arm was covered in fire shooting off into the alley with Midoriya zipping through the air, no broken bones in sight. In the middle of it all stood the Hero Killer himself, katana swinging wildly at the green clad boy.

Time sped up as I slammed the button on the communicator and ran forward into the alley, reaching Iida first.

"Andromeda to Endeavor! I found all three students at the location Shouto mentioned before running off. The Hero Killer is here! Two injured seriously, one pro and one student!"

I made it to Iida before the response came through.

"Coming your way Andromeda!"

Iida's armor was pierced at the shoulder, the wound didn't look to be gushing but the puncture was deep. He stared at me with surprise.

"Arai! Get away! Why are there so many of you coming! This isn't safe!"

"No shit you idiot!" I yelled at him pulling a packet of disinfectant and gauze out of a pocket in my belt.

I ripped the packet open with my teeth and squirted it into his shoulder, this was met with a hiss of pain but I kept on, stuffing the gauze into the puncture eliciting a groan as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Nice of you to make it!", Todoroki shouted over his shoulder, ice erupting at his feet into the alley.

"I contacted Endeavor, help should be here soon!"

I got up and ran over to the injured pro, his body rigid against the ground. The front of his costume was soaked through with blood, also punctured through it shoulder. I made quick work of ripping the fabric to get to the wound, pulling out more supplies.

"Where do you kids keep coming from?", he moaned out.

"UA. We're on internships, but help will be here soon so just hang tight okay?", I said stuffing gauze into his shoulder.

I stood quickly and turned to support Todoroki. Not engaging my ass, the situation had spiraled so far beyond anyone's control at this point the rules would just have to deal with it. Midoriya came sliding back to the two of us, crouching low to the ground.

"Hikari!", he squawked out. "Don't let him cut you! He can—"

"Freeze someone by swallowing their blood, I know"

Todoroki glanced at me incredulously. He was holding his left arm, two knives imbedded into the his forearm. I swallowed thickly.

"How do you know that?"

"I'll explain later, what's the plan?", I threw my hands out, hands glowing bright.

"Knowing his quirk won't help much. Todoroki's injured pretty bad, there's no way we can get everyone away from here", Midoriya spoke.

"So, what then? We fight?"

"I'll distract him, will the two of you support me from behind?"

I nodded quickly, hands radiating brighter, illuminating Stain. He had knives strapped all over his body, katana in one hand, red scarf ripped and billowing behind him. This man had killed multiple pros using essentially only his combat skills. It was very possible we would die here.

"You're asking us to take a pretty big risk, but I'll back you up", Todoroki called next to me.

I glanced sideways at him, his expression narrow and determined. Midoriya stood.

"Let's go!"

Green energy lit up around his body and he shot forward faster than even Iida could have. Todoroki stepped forward, more ice shooting towards the villain on the right. I aimed and began shooting at his left. He gracefully leapt and dodged out of the way of it all, swinging his katana all the while.

Midoriya matched his speed managing to keep out of the way of the blades until he swiped at his ankle cutting through the bracers. Stain brought the sword to his lips tongue darting out to lick it as he lunged at paralyzed boy.

"Midoriya!", Todorki yelled.

The both of us shot forth bursts of heat, sending Stain away from Midoriya. I landed and turned to face us. Todoroki threw forth another eruption of ice, but not before he managed to send throwing knives at the two of us, one landing in my left thigh.

I gasped at the pain shooting straight up my body and my leg wavered but didn't give out.

"Hikari!", Todoroki shouted, sending more ice to drive Stain back.

"I'm fine!", I snapped. "We just have to keep this up for a little longer!"

I threw another star into the alley, focusing on compressing it down as it flew. Endeavor had drilled this with me multiple times yesterday and though it still required a lot of focus I was cutting down on the time.

Stain jumped up and I released it, exploding out in white light, catching him off guard and sending him falling further back into the alley.

"Stop! You guys have to get away from here!" Iida cried. "I can't watch this"

"Iida make your brother proud! Stand up and be Ingenium!", Todroki cried volleying fire into the alley ahead of us.

I glanced back and saw the confliction on Iida's features. My hunch of him coming to Hosu City to try and find Stain must be right. His injured arm twitched as his hand clenched against the concrete. I turned back to fire off more stars at Todoroki's yell for assistance in driving him back.

How much longer could we keep this up? Midoriya was stuck paralyzed, Iida injured behind us along with the only actual pro hero in this alley. Stain was relentless in his pursuit, returning no matter what Todoroki and I threw at him. I was covered in sweat and blood, exhaustion creeping in from the amount of energy I was shooting out of my hands and the insane parkour run I did to get over here. I clenched my teeth as Stain ran straight down the alley way at us both, katana raised as Todoroki shot more fire at him.

"Didn't anyone tell you that you rely too much on your quirk boy?", he taunted as he neared.

"Oh, fuck off!", I yelled shooting more stars for him to only duck under.

"That's not very lady like language!"

He was right on top of us, sword already swinging at our arms raised out at him. I stood frozen, there was no way we'd be able to get out of the way. It was over, we had done everything we possibly could have done as a bunch of teenagers. We were going to die in this alley.

"Recipro Burst!"

The air whooshed between us as Iida threw one, then two kicks at Stain, stopping the sword from making contact. I wheezed out a laugh in relief as Stain jumped back again.

"You're free now?"

"Midoriya, Todoroki, Arai…This has nothing to do with you. And I apologize. I won't let you shed any more blood for me!"

His eyes shone with unshed tears, jaw set tight in conviction. We can do this. We can stop him.

"A man doesn't change in a few minutes! You'll be nothing but fraud! A fake hero who attempted murder!", Stain shouted from the other side of the alley. "You're nothing but a part of the sickness of this society!"

"He's right I have no right to call myself a hero" blood welled through the gauze in his shoulder, running down his arm, "But I can't back down now and let the name Ingenium die!"

"Pathetic"

Stain made to rush us again, Todoroki pushing us both back and shooting a massive blast of fire against the building behind him. He managed to jump up and away with his freak fast reflexes.

"Get away! He's only after me and the other kid, just run!", The pro called.

"We can't leave you here!", I yelled back.

"I don't think he'd let us leave now anyway, something's changed now!", Todoroki called.

He was right. Stain's fighting style had changed, the look in his eye while still terrifying, had a darker gleam under it. You'd think his quirk was some kind of flight with the way he kept dodging the attacks Todoroki and I threw at him, but he was creeping in and gaining ground, desperately trying to kill Iida and the pro before any other help showed up. I could tell he was getting agitated, scarves flailing behind him as he jumped about.

I stepped in closer to Todoroki and raised my right hand, both of us shooting off blisteringly hot attacks at Stain. His quirk wasn't anything strong, he made up for it with his physical prowess, but facing off against multiple opponents couldn't be easy for him.

"Todoroki! I need you to freeze my leg without plugging the exhaust!", Iida called.

"What!", he yelled back.

I sent another small ball of gas shooting for Stain, forcing it to once again explode, but he anticipated it and was able to dodge most of it this time. His face was contorted into a scowl, hand throwing knives at blinding speed again. Iida lurched forward to shield us both, catching them in his uninjured arm and falling to the ground.

"Just do it!"

Todoroki bent to cover his calf in ice as I continued to blast at Stain. I could barely feel the pain in my leg from the knife sticking in it but my leg was starting to wobble. Todoroki sent more fire up the alley wall at Stain and I threw another star, my leg giving out under me. Iida was trying to pull the knife out of his shoulder with his teeth as his other hand couldn't reach over and grab it. I immediately took cue and reached over to yank it out, blood spurting over the ground and coating my hands in another layer.

Iida staggered to his feet, nodding at me with his jaw set, his engines heating up to blue as when he activates Recipro Burst. He turned and used the power to jump straight up at Stain, blue light trailing his accent. A flash of green followed close behind, Midoriya having regained his mobility and launched himself off of one of the glaciers Todoroki had created.

I watched in awe as the two flew up as Stain was crashing down. Iida kicking out his leg as Midoriya threw a fist, making contact at the same time on opposite sides of Stain's body. And finally, the hero killer fell and didn't get up.

The four of us stood there for a moment staring at his collapsed body, unmoving on the concrete.

"Holy shit", I breathed out.

"You could say that", Todoroki murmured to me.

Native groaned and I looked over to see him shifting around against the wall. Stain's quirk had finally worn off, whether that was because of the time limit of him being knocked out was anyone's guess.

"We need to tie him up", Native said.

Midoriya started sorting through the trash nearby for anything useful, managing to find a length of rope behind a trash can. Todoroki then stepped forward and began rooting through all of his pockets, searching for knives and pulling out a stupid amount hidden in pockets and pouches all over his body and then sat him up and bound his wrists and then across his torso and arms.

Midoriya looked about on the verge of collapse out of exhaustion, his arms also limp at his sides. Native had regained full mobility and picked Midoriya up to carry him out of the alley. I sat on my knees still, the knife still thoroughly imbedded in my thigh. I knew pulling out objects with puncture wounds wasn't the best idea but my thigh was screaming now. Todoroki approached me and offered me a hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet, leg wobbling in protest of the action.

"Do you want me to carry you out of the alley?", he asked quietly.

I shook my head, placing most of my weight on my right leg. "I'm good lets just get out of this alley"

Todoroki picked up the rope and unceremoniously started dragging the Hero Killer behind him like a rag doll. Iida and I flanked either side of Todoroki as we started the walk out.

"I should have been able to do more as a pro, I'm sorry", Native said.

"No one could've taken him down by themselves, he's too strong with that weird quirk", Midoriya mumbled sleepily from Native's shoulder.

"We barely did beat him and it was only because he started to make mistakes", Todoroki added.

I hummed in agreement limping forward, keeping my hands out ready to catch myself if my leg gave out again. It hadn't sunk in yet that we had managed to beat this monster, four high school students. We had grossly misused our quirks, there were laws to help when it came to using quirks in self-defense, but Aizawa was going to destroy the four of us for this.

"We need to get him to the police as fast as possible", Native cut in. "And then get you all to the hospital"

"What the hell are you doing here boy?"

We had made it to the end of alley, stepping into the lights from the street lamps, Gran Tornio on the other side of the street,

"A-ah! Gran Tornio! I was—"

The older pro flew from the other side of the street, his boot making contact with Midoriya's face.

"I told you to stay on the bullet train!"

"Sorry!"

I laughed lightly at the interaction, this must be who he was interning with. Running off and into trouble it seems.

Before he could be berated any further a stampede of pros came around the corner, looking confused at the sight before them.

"Endeavor sent us here to respond for a request to help!"

"Those injuries look bad! I'll call an ambulance"

One of the pros looked down at the Hero Killer, slumped against Todoroki's legs.

"Wait…is that the Hero Killer?!"

"I'll get the police on the line too!"

We were rushed by the group, Midoriya being propped up by one of them. One started looking me over, spying the knife sticking out of my thigh and winced in sympathy. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

"I'm fine, I just want to get this asshole in custody", I jerked my thumb towards Stain.

Iida approached us, looking dejectedly at the sidewalk.

"Midoryia, Todoroki, Arai… you all were injured because of me… I'm sorry"

The turbo hero bent forward into a bow, arms limp at his side, tears hitting the concrete below.

"I was so angry, I couldn't see anything else but avenging my brother", a wet sob escaped his lips.

Midoriya's gaze softened, "I'm sorry too Iida. You were going through so much all by yourself and I couldn't even tell anything was wrong"

"Hey, pull yourself together. You're the class rep", Todoroki stated.

I lifted my hand to his head and smoothed his hair out, still bent forward.

"It'll be okay, Iida. We're here to help you"

"Right", he sniffed.

Iida was trying to wipe at his face with his shoulder, managing to just smear blood on his cheek and did nothing to help the tears spilling out of his eyes but I didn't want to push his boundaries by wiping at his eyes for him. He had barely stood himself straight to give us a watery smile when Gran Tornio was shouting at us to get down.

A noumu with giant leathery wings had appeared in the sky, misshapen body speeding down at us. It reached a clawed foot out, gripping around Midoriya before ascending again. The pros around me screamed, Todoroki yelling out his name next to me.

My legs moved before my brain could catch up, running out of the group and taking off after him, streaking up into the sky much to the protest of my thigh. Wind whistled in my ears as I ascended, reaching both hands out to try and grab at Midoriya.

"Hold on!", I screamed desperately.

I was closing in, less than two meters away when the Noumu's wings stuttered and it began to fall. I pressed forward, determined to grab him out the grasp when another figure shot past me, landing roughly on top of the Noumu. Midoriya reached out to me and my right hand clamped over his wrist as I glanced up.

Stain had driven a knife straight into the creature's brain.

We descended quickly, Midoriya pulling me closer as we skidded into the concrete, Stain atop the creature that was trying to take him away. The two of us laid sprawled out next to the Noumu, and I pushed myself up on my arms to look at him better. Midoriya's face was one of pure terror and when I glanced up to look at Stain I felt the dread seep into my very bones.

Spittle flew from his mouth, his arm covered in blood as he pulled the knife free from the noumu's brain. He tried to stand straight but his legs gave out, he planted a giant hand on Midoriya's back. My grip tightened around his forearm as I stared up at the villain, his expression in a rage beyond words.

"What are you idiots standing around for?" Endeavor boomed.

I looked over my shoulder to see the number two hero come around the corner, his fire lighting up the street. But I couldn't feel any sense of relief. The aura of pure foreboding that rolled off of Stain struck into my very core leaving me hopeless that anything good could come from the situation.

The hero killer looked gleeful at the arrival of the pro, releasing Midoriya and standing to turn on wobbly legs. Endeavor looked more than ready to incinerate us all if it meant getting Stain, his arm held high with fire shooting up it. Stain stood straight, the rag of a mask falling from his face. He was cold and malicious as he started yelling at them.

"You false hero! You have dirtied the word! I will restore the meaning!"

One steel toe boot step forward. And then another, stomping hard into the ground as if to prove his point. The entire group of pros looked shaken, taking a step back. Endeavor's face became uncertain, dropping the impending attack he had ready.

"Just try and stop me you fakes!"

Stain stood tall, knife in hand, his whole appearance dripping blood lust and conviction. I could feel Midoriya tremble in my grasp. I was too stunned to even move, this man had driven a terror I didn't know could exist into my mind and it short circuited everything.

"Only one man may kill me! All Might is worthy!", he screeched, spit flying from his lips, blood dripping from his hand onto the sidewalk.

Rage permeated the air, the smell of fear flooding my nostrils. The only thing to exist outside of this terror was Midoriya's hand crushing around my own forearm. Stain was going to kill us all.

But as quickly as his rampage had started, it ended. Knife clattering to the sidewalk, the aura had died.

I let out a sob and buried my head against Midoriya's arm. It was over.

* * *

 **A/N: Holy shit it's been a whole month since I've updated *screams into the void*. Nursing school is trying hard to kill me but I have three weeks of the semester left and then I have a month and a half break so hopefully I'll be updating a little more frequently.**

 **Hikari ran into her mother! I debated that scene a lot but decided I had to put it in. Zella would of course want to see her baby girl/perfect creation as soon as possible, so even though she couldn't say** ** _why_** **she was trying to help her she had to do something. Plus that'll come back into play later.**

 **According to my research on the internet, Zilla is a variant spelling of English Zillah meaning "shade, shadow". I wanted to try my best to keep with the naming after quirks. She is Scandinavian, and her husband is Japanese. His first name will come later.**

 **I decided on Mikami with the Kanji:** 見神 **. Meaning "mindset" and "god". I decided on this because it's literally two scientist who decided to play god and create a "perfect being".**

 **Stain was both terrifying and hard to write, I hope I did this menace justice! I know that Hikari didn't get taken over by his quirk but her blood type is AB in case you were curious! I looked into that a lot too before deciding on that. She shares it with Mina and Tokoyami.**

 **Again, thank you guys so much for all the follows and reviews! It means so much to me and really keeps me inspired to continue this on. I do have so much planned out and I want to keep going. I hope to update sooner for a while after finals!**

 **Until next time!  
~ Vic **


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